Clinical Outcomes, Structure, and Function Improve With Both Heavy and Moderate Loads in the Treatment of Patellar Tendinopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Loading interventions have become a predominant treatment strategy for tendinopathy, and positive clinical outcomes and tendon tissue responses may depend on the exercise dose and load magnitude.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose was to investigate if the load magnitude influenced the effect of a 12-week loading intervention for patellar tendinopathy in the short term (12 weeks) and long term (52 weeks). We hypothesized that a greater load magnitude of 90% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) would yield a more positive clinical outcome, tendon structure, and tendon function compared with a lower load magnitude of 55% of 1 RM when the total exercise volume was kept equal in both groups.

An exploration of the methods to determine the protein-specific synthesis and breakdown rates in vivo in humans.

The present study explores the methods to determine human in vivo protein-specific myofibrillar and collagenous connective tissue protein fractional synthesis and breakdown rates. We found that in human myofibrillar proteins, the protein-bound tracer disappearance method to determine the protein fractional breakdown rate (FBR) (via H O ingestion, endogenous labeling of H-alanine that is incorporated into proteins, and FBR quantified by its disappearance from these proteins) has a comparable intrasubject reproducibility (range: 0.09-53.

Sequence variants in muscle tissue-related genes may determine the severity of muscle contractures in cerebral palsy.

Muscle contractures are a common complication to cerebral palsy (CP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether individuals with CP carry specific gene variants of important structural genes that might explain the severity of muscle contractures. Next-generation-sequencing (NGS) of 96 candidate genes associated with muscle structure and metabolism were analyzed in 43 individuals with CP (Gross Motor Function classification system [GMFCS] I, n=10; GMFCS II, n=14; GMFCS III, n=19) and four control participants.

Validity and reliability of an ultrasound measurement of the free length of the Achilles tendon.

Introduction: Valid length measurements of the different segments of the Achilles tendon are needed in order to investigate if differential elongation of the Achilles tendon takes place after rupture. The purpose of this paper was to present data concerning the accuracy and reliability of an ultrasound measurement of the free part of the Achilles tendon.

Methods: Both legs of 19 non-injured subjects were examined by magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) and ultrasound.

Positive muscle protein net balance and differential regulation of atrogene expression after resistance exercise and milk protein supplementation.

Purpose: Resistance exercise and amino acid availability are positive regulators of muscle protein net balance (NB). However, anabolic responses to resistance exercise and protein supplementation deserve further elucidation. The purpose was to compare intakes of whey, caseinate (both: 0.