The Effects of Whey Protein Supplements on Markers of Exercise-induced Muscle Damage in Resistance-trained Individuals (WheyProtein)

The Effects of Pasture-raised Versus Conventional Whey Protein Supplementation on Vascular Function and Markers of Exercise-induced Muscle Damage and Inflammation in Resistance-trained Individuals

Intense exercise can bring about various side effects to one's body. Less range of motion, increased pain sensitivity, increased muscle swelling, and decreased muscle strength can occur immediately after exercise. These side effects can be referred to exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) and can sometimes last many days. This study's goal is to evaluate the effects of various protein supplements on EIMD symptoms as well as on blood vessel health during the recovery period after muscle damaging exercise.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Muscle Soreness; Muscle Damage
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Pasture-raised whey protein; Dietary supplement: Conventional whey protein; Dietary supplement: Placebo

Detailed Description

Eccentric exercise can result in exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD), which can cause an abundance of ultrastructural muscular disruption and pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant activity in the body, leading to an impairment of muscular force production and range of motion, along with elevated pain sensitivity, increased swelling, and arterial stiffness. Pasture-raised dairy products, obtained from strictly grass-fed cows, have been shown to possess more anti-inflammatory-, antioxidant-, and antihypertensive-like biochemicals compared with conventional products (i.e., with a different nutrient composition from a diet rich in grains versus grasses). However, human research trials on these products, such as whey protein concentrate (WPC), are neglected. This study addresses this gap, with a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that compares the effect of conventional WPC versus WPC supplementation reported to be derived from pasture-raised cows on vascular function and indirect markers of muscle damage and inflammation in response to eccentric EIMD in healthy, young, resistance-trained women and men. Thirty resistance-trained individuals will complete an intense EIMD bout consisting of eccentric barbell back squats and then will be assessed 24, 48, and 72 hours post-EIMD for muscle soreness, range of motion, maximal isometric voluntary contraction, peripheral fatigue via magnetic stimulation, countermovement jump, barbell back squat velocity, and vascular function (i.e., arterial stiffness via carotid femoral pulse wave velocity). Subjects will be grouped into a conventional WPC, pasture-raised WPC, and placebo supplementation group and consume their respective supplementation thrice daily immediately post-EIMD until the study's completion.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 39
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Indiana
    • Bloomington, Indiana, United States, 47405
      • Indiana University School of Public Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men and women 18-40 years old
• ≥3 months uninterrupted training of ≥3 days/week of resistance training
• Self-reported to be healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not within defined age range
• History of allergy to dairy products
• History of experiencing pain while exercising in the lower extremities (i.e., hips/knees)
• Current use of anti-inflammatory/anti-pain medication (i.e., nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Tylenol, Advil, or Aleve
• Are pregnant or could possibly be pregnant by self-report
• People who answer 'yes' to any of the pre-participation screening questions on the PAR-Q questionnaire.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pasture-raised whey protein; whey protein from strictly grass fed cows	Dietary supplement: Pasture-raised whey protein; 25 grams of protein delivered 3 times daily; Other Names: Premium Blend Protein, Pasture Raised, Grass Fed, unflavored, Muscle Feast, Nashport, OH, USA
Experimental: Conventional whey protein; whey protein from conventional animal feeding operation	Dietary supplement: Conventional whey protein; 25 grams of protein delivered 3 times daily; Other Names: 100% Whey Protein Powder, unflavored, TGS Nutrition, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Maltodextrin given in iso-caloric amounts to protein	Dietary supplement: Placebo; Iso-caloric placebo taken 3 times daily like the protein supplementation; Other Names: Maltodextrin, Bulk Supplements, Henderson, NV, USA

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Titin	Muscle damage assessment via urinary titin via ELISA (MBS2881644, Human Titin ELISA® Kit, MyBioSource.com, Inc., San Diego, USA). Units: pmol	Four days
Isometric torque	Isometric torque assessment of right leg extensors will be conducted at a knee angle of 90 degrees using a calibrated load cell (model Z Tension Load Cell; Dillon, Fairmont, MN) Units: Nm	Four days
Range of motion	Hamstring flexibility and stiffness will be measured using a sit-and-reach box (Lafayette Instrument Company, Lafayette, IN) test. Units: cm	Four days
delayed onset muscle soreness	Visual analog scale of muscle soreness (delayed onset muscle soreness; DOMS) - Knee extensor soreness will be assessed using a visual analogue scale with "no soreness" indicated at one end (score 0) and "unbearably painful" at the other (score 100). Units: arbitrary units	Four days
Pain pressure threshold	Muscle tenderness, known as pain pressure threshold, will be quantified using a digital algometer (Force One, Wagner Instruments, Greenwich, CT) on pre-marked sites at two specific points on the quadriceps (rectus femoris-RF and vastus lateralis-VL) and one on the calf (gastrocnemius-GM). Units: percentage change from baseline	Four days
Peripheral Fatigue	Peripheral fatigue will be assessed via magnetic stimulation (Magstim 200-2; Jali Medical, Newton, MA, USA) of the femoral nerve, which will be used to elicit a quadriceps twitch. Units: Nm	Four days
Countermovement Jump	A linear position transducer (GymAware Powertool; Kinetic Performance Technology, Canberra, Australia) interfaced with an iPad (Apple, CA, USA) will be used to calculate countermovement jump (CMJ) height. Units: cm	Four days
Barbell back squat velocity	The mean velocity of the barbell will be measured using the linear position transducer as per the load velocity profile relationship. Units: m/s	Four days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Arterial Stiffness	Utilizing carotid femoral pulse wave velocity via applanation tonometry, considered the non-invasive gold standard of central arterial stiffness, the ATCOR SphygmoCor® (Naperville, IL, USA) device will be utilized. Units: m/sec	Four days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Indiana University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Timothy D Mickleborough, Ph.D., Indiana University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 15, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 14, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): June 14, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 19, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 19, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): October 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 2, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 28, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Pain; Myalgia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 12559

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: All IPD that underlie results in a publication
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: 6 months after publication
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Data obtained through this study may be provided to qualified researchers with academic interest in muscle damage. Data or samples shared will be coded, with no PHI included. Approval of the request and execution of all applicable agreements are prerequisites to the sharing of data with the requesting party.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No