Sex Differences in Muscle Damage: Exercise Load & Protein Feeding (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sex differences in muscle damage following acute resistance exercise: The impact of load intensity and dietary protein feeding
IRAS ID
290580
Contact name
Alice Pearson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Durham University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Unaccustomed resistance exercise can cause damage to muscle fibres that may consequently lead to muscle soreness, loss of strength, and reduced flexibility for several days following the exercise bout. These impairments prolong recovery time and likely impact exercise performance, which over time, may limit the gains in muscle mass and strength associated with resistance training. Therefore, establishing strategies to limit exercise-induced muscle damage will be advantageous to exercising individuals. This research will investigate the impact of exercise intensity in both sexes (part A) and dietary protein feeding (part B) as potential strategies for reducing muscle damage.
For part A of the research, young, healthy males and females (n = 40) will be recruited. Participants will perform a single bout of leg-based resistance exercise using either heavy or lighter weights. Muscle damage will be assessed before, immediately after, and in 24-hour intervals after the exercise through indirect blood markers (from blood samples), self-perceived muscle soreness (via pressure algometry), and muscle function (strength and flexibility). Muscle damage will be compared between sexes and exercise loads, and related to total lean body mass, as determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline.
For part B of the research, young, healthy females (n = 22) will be recruited. Participants will perform a single bout of high-intensity leg-based resistance exercise. Before the exercise, and every 4 hours afterwards for 3 days participants will consume either 20 g of milk protein or a carbohydrate-based placebo. Previous research has shown that milk protein effectively reduces muscle soreness, helps maintain strength, and lowers the concentration of damage and inflammatory biomarkers in males, but this has not yet been investigated in untrained females. Muscle damage will be assessed as per part A and compared between the protein and placebo groups and related to baseline body composition, as determined by DXA.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NE/0073
Date of REC Opinion
14 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion