Pre-sleep Protein Supplementation and Load Carriage Recovery in British Army Recruits

Pre-sleep Protein Supplementation Does Not Improve Recovery From Load Carriage in British Army Recruits

Load carriage is a common military activity and has been shown to induce acute exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and impair muscle function. Protein supplementation can accelerate muscle recovery by attenuating EIMD and muscle function loss. This study investigated the impact of an additional daily bolus of protein prior to sleep throughout training on acute muscle recovery following a load carriage test in British Army recruits. Muscle function (maximal jump height), perceived muscle soreness and urinary markers of muscle damage were assessed before (PRE), immediately post (POST), 24-hours post (24h-POST) and 40-hours post (40h-POST) a load carriage test.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Muscle Soreness; Protein-energy; Imbalance
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: High protein intake; Dietary supplement: Moderate protein intake; Dietary supplement: Carbohydrate maltodextrin placebo; Other: Control no supplementation

Detailed Description

British Army basic training (BT) is physically demanding with new recruits completing multiple bouts of physical activity each day with limited recovery. Load carriage is one of the most physically demanding BT activities and has been shown to induce acute exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and impair muscle function. Protein supplementation can accelerate muscle recovery by attenuating EIMD and muscle function loss. This study investigated the impact of an additional daily bolus of protein prior to sleep throughout training on acute muscle recovery following a load carriage test in United Kingdom (UK) British Army recruits. A mixed group (men/women) over over 120 new recruits were randomised to dietary control (CON), carbohydrate placebo (PLA), moderate (20g; MOD) or high (60g; HIGH) protein supplementation. Muscle function (maximal jump height), perceived muscle soreness and urinary markers of muscle damage were assessed before (PRE), immediately post (POST), 24-hours post (24h-POST) and 40-hours post (40h-POST) a load carriage test. The underlying aim of this study was to assess whether additional protein intake could attenuate aspects of muscle damage from an acute load carriage test including muscle function, muscle soreness and biomarkers of muscle damage during short term recovery.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 122
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Cambridgeshire
    • Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, CB1 1PT
      • Anglia Ruskin University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Enrolled into British Army basic training
• Medically fit to train and complete the load carriage test

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not taking any other nutritional supplement
• Pregnant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High protein intake supplementation; A 60g daily dose of whey protein supplementation	Dietary supplement: High protein intake; The participants received a 60g whey protein bolus each evening prior to sleep pre and post a military load carriage test.
Experimental: Moderate protein intake supplementation; A 20g dose of whey protein supplementation	Dietary supplement: Moderate protein intake; The participants received a 20g whey protein bolus each evening prior to sleep pre and post a military load carriage test.
Placebo Comparator: Carbohydrate placebo; An isocaloic maltodextrin carbohydrate placebo	Dietary supplement: Carbohydrate maltodextrin placebo; The participants received an isocaloric carbohydrate bolus each evening prior to sleep pre and post a military load carriage test.
Other: Control group, no supplementation; Control group, not taking any supplementation, only completing basic training activities	Other: Control no supplementation; Control group, no supplementation, only basic training

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in lower body muscle function	The change in maximal vertical jump height in participants before and after the load carriage test	40-hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The change in urinary myoglobin	The relative change in concentration of urinary myoglobin (ng/ml) in participants before and after the load carriage test	40-hours
The change in urinary 3-methylhistidine	The relative change in concentration of urinary 3-methylhistidine (nmol/ml) in participants before and after the load carriage test	40-hours
The change in perceived muscle soreness	The relative change in perceived muscle soreness assessed via visual analogue scale. The participants were asked to record their perceived muscle soreness using a 0-10 Likert scale (e.g., 0=no pain, 10=severe pain that limits the ability to move).	40-hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Anglia Ruskin University
• Collaborators: University of Exeter
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Justin D Roberts, PhD, Anglia Ruskin University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): May 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 11, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 21, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): February 26, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 23, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

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: 1076/MODREC/20B

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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