What happens to old men's leg muscles when they can't move, then start exercising again with protein and painkillers?
Skeletal muscle adaptation to immobilization and subsequent retraining in elderly men: No effect of anti-inflammatory medication.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Older men wore a leg cast for 2 weeks, making their leg muscles smaller and weaker. Then they exercised and drank protein. Their muscles got back to normal in 2 weeks and got even stronger after 6 weeks. Taking ibuprofen didn’t change how muscles recovered.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
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Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Older men wore a leg cast for 2 weeks, making their leg muscles smaller and weaker. Then they exercised and drank protein. Their muscles got back to normal in 2 weeks and got even stronger after 6 weeks. Taking ibuprofen didn’t change how muscles recovered.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 546 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Dideriksen K, Boesen AP, Kristiansen JF, Magnusson SP, Schjerling P, Holm L, Kjaer M
Related Content
Claims (4)
When you lift weights, your muscles get a little damaged and inflamed — and that’s actually a good thing. This inflammation helps your muscles heal and get stronger, and usually your body can handle the recovery just fine on its own.
After older guys rest their legs for a bit, getting back to strength training with extra protein might help their leg muscles grow back stronger than before they took the break.
Older guys getting back into exercise after leg inactivity don’t seem to gain or lose muscle strength or size from taking ibuprofen every day, even if they’re also drinking protein shakes.
If older guys between 60 and 80 don’t use their legs for two weeks, they lose leg muscle and strength—but just two weeks of exercise plus drinking protein twice a day can bring it all back.