Medicine and science in sports and exercise
-
Med Sci Sports Exerc · Aug 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialTestosterone and Resistance Training Improve Muscle Quality in Spinal Cord Injury.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) negatively impacts muscle quality and testosterone levels. Resistance training (RT) has been shown to increase muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) after SCI, whereas testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) has been shown to improve muscle quality in other populations. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine if the combined effects of these interventions, TRT + RT, may maximize the beneficial effects on muscle quality after SCI. ⋯ The addition of mechanical stress via RT to TRT maximizes improvements to muscle quality after complete SCI when compared with TRT administered alone. Our evidence shows that this intervention increases muscle size and strength while also improving muscle contractile properties.