How muscles heal after not being used
Disuse and subsequent recovery resistance training affect skeletal muscle angiogenesis related markers regardless of prior resistance training experience.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When a muscle isn't used for a while, it gets smaller. Then when you start using it again with exercise, it grows back. This study looked at what happens inside the muscle during this process, especially the tiny blood vessels.
Surprising Findings
Prior training status didn’t affect muscle’s ability to regrow blood vessels or muscle fibers after disuse.
Common belief holds that trained individuals have superior recovery capacity due to muscle memory and vascularization. This study shows untrained individuals catch up quickly in angiogenic response.
Practical Takeaways
Even after a period of inactivity, consistent resistance training for 8 weeks can restore and grow muscle with improved capillary support.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When a muscle isn't used for a while, it gets smaller. Then when you start using it again with exercise, it grows back. This study looked at what happens inside the muscle during this process, especially the tiny blood vessels.
Surprising Findings
Prior training status didn’t affect muscle’s ability to regrow blood vessels or muscle fibers after disuse.
Common belief holds that trained individuals have superior recovery capacity due to muscle memory and vascularization. This study shows untrained individuals catch up quickly in angiogenic response.
Practical Takeaways
Even after a period of inactivity, consistent resistance training for 8 weeks can restore and grow muscle with improved capillary support.
Publication
Journal
Journal of applied physiology
Year
2025
Authors
Mason C McIntosh, J. M. Michel, Joshua S Godwin, Daniel L. Plotkin, Derick A. Anglin, Madison L. Mattingly, Anthony Agyin-Birikorang, Nicholas J. Kontos, Harsimran S. Baweja, M. Stock, C. B. Mobley, Michael D. Roberts
Related Content
Claims (4)
When young adults stop using a limb for 2 weeks and then do 8 weeks of strength training, their muscles show signs of rebuilding blood vessels—even if they’ve never trained before.
If young adults stop using a limb for two weeks and then do eight weeks of strength training, their muscle fibers get bigger and gain more blood supply.
If you've lifted weights before, it doesn't make a difference in how your muscles rebuild blood vessels during rest and recovery after not using them, compared to someone who hasn't trained before.
How well you bounce back from and get stronger with weight training depends on how experienced you are and things like how well you sleep, what you eat, and how stressed you feel.