Table 3.

Quality ratings of studies

Study (first author)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Total scoresa
Barreto [17]	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	25a
Brown [28]	2	2	1	1	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	21b
Burt [37]	2	2	1	2	1	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	24a
Chen [21]	2	2	2	2	2	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	24a
Chen [2]	1	2	1	1	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	20b
Chen [38]	2	2	1	2	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	22b
Chen [13]	2	2	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	24a
Chen [10]	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	27a
Chen [15]	2	2	1	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	26a
Eston [3]	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	2	1	2	2	21b
Howatson [39]	1	2	1	0	1	1	1	2	1	2	2	1	2	2	19b
Huang [22]	2	2	1	1	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	22b
Paddon-Jones [40]	2	2	1	1	2	0	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	23b
Lavender [14]	2	2	1	2	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	23b
Liman [20]	2	2	1	2	1	0	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	20b
Lin [23]	1	2	1	2	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	21b
Maeo [7]	2	2	1	2	2	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	25a
Maeo [16]	2	2	1	2	1	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	22b
Miyama [41]	2	2	1	1	2	0	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	22b
Nosaka [8]	2	2	1	1	0	0	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	1	19b
Nosaka [18]	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	2	1	20b
Nosaka [42]	2	2	1	1	2	0	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	22b
Tseng [19]	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	24a

Item description: 1. Objective; 2. Design/study question; 3. Method of subject selection; 4. Subject characteristics; 5. Randomisation; 6. Baseline or pre-test measures included eccentric or isometric contractions; 7. Dependent measures taken at the same time of day; 8. Outcome measures; 9. Sample size; 10. Statistics and analyses; 11. Estimate of variance; 12. Dependent variables recorded at appropriate intervals; 13. Results reported; 14. Conclusion stated

^aStudy quality rated as a = excellent > 23, b = good > 18, c = fair > 14 or d = poor < 14