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Early resistance training-induced increases in muscle cross-sectional area are concomitant with edema-induced muscle swelling

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European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

It has been proposed that skeletal muscle shows signs of resistance training (RT)-induced muscle hypertrophy much earlier (i.e., ~3–4 weeks of RT) than previously thought. We determined if early increases in whole muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) during a period of RT were concomitant with edematous muscle swelling and thus not completely attributable to hypertrophy.

Methods

We analyzed vastus lateralis muscle ultrasound CSA images and their respective echo intensities (CSA-USecho) at the beginning (T1), in the 3rd week of RT (T2) and at the end (T3) of a 10-week RT period in ten untrained young men. Functional parameters [training volume (TV = load × reps × sets) and maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)] and muscle damage markers (myoglobin and interleukin-6) were also assessed.

Result

Muscle CSA increased significantly at T2 (~2.7 %) and T3 (~10.4 %) versus T1. Similarly, CSA-USecho increased at T2 (~17.2 %) and T3 (~13.7 %). However, when CSA-USecho was normalized to the increase in muscle CSA, only T2 showed a significantly higher USecho versus T1. Additionally, TV increased at T2 and T3 versus T1, but MVC increased only at T3. Myoglobin and Interleukin-6 were elevated at T2 versus T1, and myoglobin was also higher at T2 versus T3.

Conclusion

We propose that early RT-induced increases in muscle CSA in untrained young individuals are not purely hypertrophy, since there is concomitant edema-induced muscle swelling, probably due to muscle damage, which may account for a large proportion of the increase. Therefore, muscle CSA increases (particularly early in an RT program) should not be labeled as hypertrophy without some concomitant measure of muscle edema/damage.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AU:

Arbitrary units

CSA:

Cross-sectional area

CSA-USecho :

Cross-sectional area echo-intensity

ES:

Effect size

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

Mb:

Myoglobin

MVC:

Maximum voluntary isometric contraction torque

MPS:

Muscle protein synthesis

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

RT:

Resistance training

SD:

Standard deviations

TV:

Total training volume

USecho :

Ultrasound echo-intensity

VL:

Vastus lateralis

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge all the participants of this study. This work was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grants #2012/24499-1, #2014/19594-0 and #2013/21218-4. CU and HR are supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) Grant (#304205/2011-7 and #307023/2014-1, respectively). Portions of this work were also supported by a Grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to SMP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello de Morais, 65, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil

    Felipe Damas, Manoel E. Lixandrão, Felipe C. Vechin, Hamilton Roschel, Valmor Tricoli & Carlos Ugrinowitsch

  2. Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Stuart M. Phillips

  3. Laboratory of Neuromuscular Adaptations to Resistance Training, Federal University of São Carlos, Rod. Washington Luiz, Km 235-SP310, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil

    Cleiton A. Libardi

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  1. Felipe Damas
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  3. Manoel E. Lixandrão
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  4. Felipe C. Vechin
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  8. Carlos Ugrinowitsch
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Correspondence to Felipe Damas.

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The authors do not have any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, to declare.

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All procedures performed herein were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Communicated by Anni Vanhatalo.

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Damas, F., Phillips, S.M., Lixandrão, M.E. et al. Early resistance training-induced increases in muscle cross-sectional area are concomitant with edema-induced muscle swelling. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 49–56 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3243-4

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