Table 4.
Muscle Soreness
| Study | Subjects | Age (years) | Exercise | Time points | Scale | Results | Other findings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to peak | Magnitude of change | Time to recover | |||||||
| Clarkson and Dedrick [50] | 20 healthy females (10 young, 10 older) | 24 ± 3, 67 ± 5 |
24 reps eccentric contractions of elbow flexors 115% maximal isometric strength |
Baseline, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-h | 1 (no pain) to 10 (very painful) | 48-h | ↑3 points*# | 72-h |
Older peaked 24-h after young Repeated bout (7-d) reduced pain rating |
| Dedrick and Clarkson [51] | 20 healthy females (10 young, 10 older) | 24 ± 3, 67 ± 5 |
24 reps eccentric contractions of elbow flexors 115% maximal isometric strength |
Baseline, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-h | 1 (no pain) to 10 (very painful) | 48-h | ↑2 points*# | 96-h | Older peaked 24-h after young |
| Lavender and Nosaka [46] | 20 healthy males (10 young, 10 older) | 19 ± 0, 71 ± 2 |
6 × 5 reps eccentric contractions of elbow flexors 40% maximal isometric strength |
Baseline, 0-, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-, 144-, 168-h | VAS: 0 (no pain) to 50 (extreme pain) mm | 24–48-h | ↑19 mm*# | 120-h | Older had smaller increase compared to young |
| Lavender and Nosaka [46] | 18 healthy males (10 young, 8 older) | 20 ± 2, 71 ± 4 |
6 × 5 reps eccentric contractions of elbow flexors 40% maximal isometric strength |
Baseline, 0-, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96-h | VAS: 0 (no pain) to 50 (extreme pain) mm | 24–48-h | ↑15 mm*# | 96-h |
Older had smaller increase compared to young Repeated bout effect more prominent in young |
| Chen et al. [56] | 26 healthy males | 66 ± 5 | 6 × 10 reps maximal eccentric contractions of knee extensors | Baseline, 0-, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-h | VAS: 0 (not sore at all) to 100 (very, very sore) mm | 48-h | ↑12 mm*# | 72-h | Performance of sub-maximal exercise 7-d prior reduced soreness by 6-mm at 48-h |
| Buford et al. [57] | 30 healthy adults (15 young, 15 older). Each group 5 females, 5 males | 23 ± 4, 76 ± 5 |
150 reps unilateral eccentric contractions of plantar flexors 110% 1-RM |
Baseline, 48-, 168-h | VAS: 0 (no soreness) to 100 (extreme soreness) mm | 48-h | ↑28 mm*# | 168-h | Older had smaller increase compared to young |
| Nikolaidis [49] | 20 healthy males (10 young, 10 older) | 22 ± 4, 67 ± 5 |
5 × 15 reps of back squat 75% 1-RM on a Smith machine |
Baseline, 48-h | 1 (normal) to 10 (very sore) | N/A | ↑ 6 points*# | N/A | |
| Sorensen et al. [59] | 19 healthy adults (11 young, 8 older). 4 females in young group | 22 ± 2, 71 ± 7 | 300 reps maximal eccentric contractions of the knee extensors | Baseline, 24-, 72-h | VAS: 0 (no pain) to 100 (unbearable pain) mm | 24-h | ↑ 30 mm*# | Not recovered | No significant difference between young and old |
| Naderi et al. [54] | 78 healthy adults | 66 ± 3 |
4 sets of 10 reps of 3 exercises (standing calf raise with DB, standing and seated calf raise with machine) 75% 1-RM |
Baseline, 24-, 48-, 72-h | VAS: 0 (no pain) to 100 (extreme pain) mm | 48-h | ↑ 49 mm (passive recovery)*# | Not recovered | Both massage and cold water immersion after exercise reduced soreness by 10-mm at 48-h |
1-RM one-repetition maximum, reps repetitions, DB dumbbell, VAS visual analogue scale, h hours, d days, DB dumbbell, ↑ increase
#Data extracted from figures
*Significantly different from baseline,