Sex-Related Differences After a Single Bout of Maximal Eccentric Exercise in Response to Acute Effects: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 trials
PubMed 30908366 · doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002867
What was done
A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines via MEDLINE searching. The authors evaluated sex-related differences following a single bout of maximal eccentric exercise. Inclusion criteria required comparisons between men and women on absolute eccentric muscle strength, strength loss post-exercise, blood concentrations of creatine kinase (CK), and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Meta-regression was used to examine heterogeneity across 23 included trials.
What was found
Men had significantly higher absolute eccentric strength and significantly higher post-exercise absolute CK concentrations. When strength was normalized to body mass, fat-free mass, or muscle cross-sectional area, no sex differences were detected. There were no significant sex differences in DOMS. Women displayed a tendency toward greater relative strength loss immediately post-exercise. The abstract reports qualitative directions and statistical significance but provides no exact numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals.
Why it matters
These results indicate that acute responses to unaccustomed eccentric loading—including muscle soreness and relative strength loss—are largely similar between untrained men and women. Eccentric exercise prescriptions and recovery timelines likely do not require broad adjustments based purely on sex.
Limits
The literature search was restricted to a single database (MEDLINE). The abstract omits total participant numbers, exact numerical effect estimates, and p-values. Findings reflect acute responses to a single bout and cannot be directly generalized to chronic training adaptations.
Cited by
- contradicts Women generally experience less exercise-induced muscle soreness than men, which may be related to estrogen.