Muscle

Shown to keep about 0.3 to 0.4 kg more lean mass during calorie-restricted weight loss than standard-protein diets, including in adults over 50.

Compared with diets with less protein

Shown to ease chronic pain moderately (Hedges' g -0.42) against control treatments, with larger effects after 8 or more sessions.

Compared with control interventions the source abstract does not describe [13]; standard care, and other psychological interventions [14]

Shown to reduce muscle soreness 24 to 72 hours after strenuous exercise compared with no massage, in three meta-analyses.

Compared with no intervention [8]; control conditions the source abstracts do not describe [9][10]

Shown to lower acute low back pain by about 8 points on a 100-point scale within 2 weeks, with no gain in disability and more side effects.

Shown to improve physical test performance after an afternoon nap in two meta-analyses of athletes and active adults. Muscle force did not change.

Compared with a no-nap condition in randomized trials [3]; no-nap conditions [5]

Shown to ease chronic low back pain about 15 points on a 100-point scale against no treatment, usual care or placebo, with a smaller gain in function.

Compared with no treatment, usual care or placebo [2]; no-exercise true control [3]

Shown to add about 2.5 kg of strength and 0.3 kg of fat-free mass during resistance training, with no extra gain above 1.62 g per kg of total protein.

Shown to raise the share with 50% pain relief in fibromyalgia from about 21% to 31%, a gain Cochrane reviewers judged not clinically relevant.

Shown to raise muscle strength by a large amount and lean mass by about 1.1 kg in older adults in pooled trials, with small gains in everyday physical function.

Compared with control groups in randomized trials [9]; before training, in the same people, in randomized and nonrandomized studies [10][11]

Shown to reduce the rate of falls in older adults by about 19% to 43% in pooled trials, and the number of people who fall by about 20%.

Compared with control interventions not thought to reduce falls [1]; other treatments [2]; control groups the source abstract does not describe [3]

Shown to add about 1.4 kg of lean mass over placebo in people with HIV. Lean mass is a scan measure, not strength.

Shown to add about 1.6 kg of fat-free mass and cut about 1.6 kg of body fat in middle-aged and older men, with no change in weight.

Shown to improve balance by a small to moderate amount in adults aged 60 and over, in two meta-analyses. Whether this prevents falls was not tested.

Compared with control groups the source abstract does not describe [13]; inactive controls such as a waiting list or education booklets [7]

Shown to ease neck pain slightly more than sham acupuncture in the short term, and more than a waiting list. The effect did not appear to last.

Compared with sham acupuncture [5]; inactive treatment [5]; waiting list [5]

Shown in very low quality evidence to make at least 50% pain relief about three times as likely as placebo, with about 4 treated for one extra responder.

Compared with placebo and other active treatments [6]

Shown to raise muscle strength in physically active people but not in untrained people. Results leaned on single trials and certainty was low.

Shown to raise muscle protein synthesis for hours, by 22% in one trial of trained men, but less than complete protein. Lean mass did not change in older adults.

Shown to improve strength and muscle mass modestly in older adults, for supplements rich in BCAAs, including EAA and whey products.

Shown to raise muscle carnosine at 4 to 6 g a day for 4 weeks, with nearly everyone responding in one lab's data.

Shown to reduce tension-type headache with a medium to large effect (d 0.73) that lasted about 15 months, more than headache monitoring, placebo or relaxation.

Compared with headache monitoring, placebo, and relaxation therapies [5]

Shown to reduce chronic back pain intensity with a moderate effect (Hedges' g 0.60) that held over about 8 months, alone or added to other treatment.

Compared with control conditions the source abstract does not describe, with before-and-after studies included [10]

Shown to slightly improve resistance sets and short sprints in mostly strength-trained adults, with about 6% more repetitions to failure on 6 to 8 g.

Shown to raise fat-free mass by about 0.3 kg in adults, under 1% of fat-free mass.

Shown to raise lean mass by about 0.45 kg in adults, though a 2-year trial in older adults found no change in body composition.

Shown to ease neck pain in the short term against sham, placebo, waiting list or other needling pooled together. Neck function did not differ from physical or manual therapy.

Compared with sham, placebo, waiting list or another form of dry needling, pooled together [7]; manual therapy [7]; other physical therapy interventions [7]; sham dry needling, physical therapy or no treatment [8]

Shown to ease low back pain more than other treatments right after treatment in 11 trials. Effects on disability were smaller and effects at later follow-up unclear.

Compared with other treatments the review abstract does not list [9]; laser, physical therapy and other combined treatments [6]

Shown to ease nontraumatic shoulder pain by a small amount, about half a point, and disability by a larger amount, in the short term only.

Compared with comparison groups the review abstract does not describe [10]

Shown to ease tennis elbow pain and disability with large effects in the short term, and grip strength with a small effect.

Compared with comparison groups the review abstract does not describe [15]

Shown to improve muscle strength and endurance, endurance tests, jumping and sport-specific actions after one energy drink, in pooled studies, with no significant effect on sprinting.

Compared with control or placebo conditions the abstract does not describe [4]

Shown to reduce muscle soreness and improve strength after eccentric exercise in healthy adults, though the wider review called recovery effects equivocal.

Shown to give at least 50% pain relief to about 22% to 24% of people with fibromyalgia on pregabalin, against about 14% on placebo.

Shown to lower fat mass about 2.1 kg and raise lean body mass about 2.1 kg in healthy older adults, with no change in weight.

Shown to lower visceral fat modestly and raise thigh muscle area with low-dose growth hormone in adults with obesity and no deficiency.

Shown to raise lean body mass about 3.6% and leg strength about 3.2% in orthopedic and sports medicine patients.

Shown to lower body fat about 2.6 kg and raise lean mass about 1.4 kg in adults with growth hormone deficiency. Quality of life improved in most trials.

Shown to ease acute and subacute low back pain slightly against an oral placebo after 5 days, by about 1 point on a 0 to 5 scale, in two trials.

Compared with oral placebo [7]; a comparison the abstract does not describe, for a heated blanket [7]

Shown to ease muscle soreness after exercise when applied within an hour, in pooled trials, with hot packs ranking highest in a network analysis.

Compared with control groups the abstract does not describe [10]; passive recovery and other cold and heat methods [11]

Shown to lower the muscle damage markers creatine kinase and LDH after damaging exercise in healthy adults, mainly in studies over 6 weeks.

Shown to reduce pain in people with fibromyalgia in one meta-analysis of 9 small studies. Adverse events occurred in 23.8% of treated patients.

Shown to lower muscle soreness for up to 96 hours after damaging exercise in adults, with damage markers lower at 24 hours only.

Shown to ease pain more than no treatment, by a large margin, and more than sham or active treatments, by smaller margins, in a meta-analysis of 67 trials.

Compared with sham treatments [2]; no treatment [2]; active treatments [2]

Shown to ease subacute and chronic low back pain more than inactive controls in the short term, with no lasting difference. Against active treatments the pain difference was small.

Compared with inactive controls [4]; active treatments [4]; usual care [5]

Shown to add about 1.1 kg of fat-free mass over a year in older adults, against a 0.5 kg loss on placebo. Body weight also rose.

Shown to reduce strength loss, soreness and creatine kinase modestly after acute muscle injury, more for lower body muscles, in studies including animals.

Linked to more walking in dog owners in one meta-analysis. In a controlled study, getting a dog added about 2,600 daily steps at 3 months, gone by 8 months.

Compared with people without a dog [5]; people who delayed getting a dog and people with no plans to get one [6]; young people without a family dog [7]

Shown to raise lower-body strength slightly in older adults, with lean mass gains only when combined with resistance training.

Shown to speed recovery of muscle function modestly in the 4 days after hard resistance training in young adults, with half of studies reporting benefit.

Shown to reduce chronic neck pain by about 20 mm on a 100 mm scale compared with placebo, lasting up to 22 weeks after treatment, in one meta-analysis.

Shown to improve fibromyalgia symptom, pain and fatigue scores compared with placebo laser in one meta-analysis. It added nothing to an exercise program.

Shown to add lean mass, about 1 to 1.5 kg across short trials, in healthy adults and people with cancer weight loss. Lean mass is not the same as strength.

Shown to lower back pain by about 5 points on a 100-point scale, which reviewers called not clinically important, and osteoarthritis pain by about 10 points.

Shown to speed recovery of strength after strenuous exercise in exercising adults and athletes. Reviews disagree on whether muscle soreness falls.

Shown to improve endurance and time to exhaustion modestly in people, in small trials with low certainty.

Shown to lower pain with movement in women with fibromyalgia, by 1.0 point against placebo TENS and 1.8 points against no TENS, out of 10.

Compared with placebo TENS [12]; no TENS [12]; physical therapy alone [13]

Shown to raise maximal strength modestly, mostly lower body, in healthy people. Upper-body strength, sprint power and muscular endurance did not change.

Shown to improve back function and pain slightly against no exercise in a Cochrane review, by amounts below the thresholds the reviewers set as clinically important.

Compared with waiting list, usual care or education [1]; a self-care book [2]; an educational book and newsletters [3]

Shown to improve lower body flexibility and leg strength in older adults against both inactive controls and active exercise controls, in one meta-analysis.

Compared with inactive controls such as a waiting list or education booklets [7]; active controls such as walking or chair aerobics [7]

One small trial found 4 g a day raised muscle and strength gains from 12 weeks of resistance training in older adults.

One small trial found 600 mg a day raised recovery and sleep quality scores in 30 female footballers over 28 days.

Limited evidence: time to exhaustion improved in women, while other measures were imprecise, at very low certainty.

Limited evidence: most adults on very low choline diets developed fatty liver or muscle damage, which reversed when choline was added back.

Limited evidence: 4 of 6 small trials reported gains in strength, lean mass or lower body fat with fenugreek extracts alongside exercise.

Limited evidence: omega-3 added about 0.33 kg of muscle mass and slightly improved timed up and go in older adults.

One randomized trial found a community garden plot added about 6 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity during the growing season, against a waiting list.

Compared with a waiting list for a community garden plot [7]

Small trials found 2 g a day lowered arm muscle pain about 25% a day after eccentric exercise.

One small trial found lower soreness and faster strength recovery over 72 hours after eccentric exercise in young adults.

Limited evidence: two small studies reported less pain while grounded, one in 16 massage therapists compared with ungrounded weeks and one uncontrolled study of 12 adults.

Compared with weeks without grounding, in the same people [3]; before grounding, in the same people [2]

One trial found a heat wrap eased acute low back pain more than ibuprofen 1,200 mg or acetaminophen 4,000 mg a day, on day 1 and days 3 to 4.

Compared with ibuprofen and acetaminophen [8]

One trial found a heat wrap plus exercise restored function in 72% of people with acute low back pain, against about 20% with heat, exercise or a booklet alone.

Compared with an education booklet [9]; exercise alone [9]; a heat wrap alone [9]

Limited evidence: four small trials found lower pain and fewer tender points than placebo, results the review authors call preliminary.

Compared with placebo [19]

One sham-controlled trial found higher VO2 max after 40 sessions in middle-aged master athletes, with 31 of 37 randomized participants analyzed.

Small trials found less muscle soreness and a smaller drop in jump performance after a post-exercise infrared sauna, with no difference after a strength session in one study.

Limited evidence: pain fell by about half in 13 women with fibromyalgia given Waon therapy, in a study with no control group.

One trial of 36 combat athletes found drainage after jumping exercise raised pain thresholds and lowered creatine kinase and C-reactive protein more than passive rest.

Compared with passive rest [10]; intense sports massage [10]

One trial found 44% on methocarbamol stopped treatment early with complete pain relief, against 18% on placebo, in acute low back pain with spasm.

Limited evidence: pre-sleep casein raised overnight muscle protein synthesis, with gains in size and strength in young men but not older men.

One small trial found better VO2 max, grip strength and mood scores than placebo in sedentary female students over 30 days.

Small trials found longer run time to exhaustion and higher VO2 max in trained runners after 3 weeks of post-training sauna sessions.

Limited evidence: pain scores fell from a median of 5 to 3 in 37 people after 10 sauna sessions, in a study with no control group.

Limited evidence: a review of Soviet-era studies reports more endurance and working capacity in healthy people and in animals, without figures in its summary.

One trial found children were active about 46 minutes more a day after two weeks of strict family screen limits, with no change in sleep measured by EEG.

Compared with families told to carry on as usual [6]

One small study without placebo found 2 of 6 strength measures improved over 6 weeks in men aged 64 to 76. Muscle mass did not change.

Limited evidence: one 12-week study linked statin use to greater lean mass gains with resistance training in adults aged 60 to 69, without randomizing statin use.

One trial of 670 adults at high risk of falling found a tai chi balance program cut falls 58% against stretching and 31% against a multimodal exercise program.

Compared with stretching exercises [4]; multimodal exercise combining balance, aerobic, strength and flexibility work [4]

One trial of 226 adults with fibromyalgia found tai chi improved symptom scores more than aerobic exercise at 24 weeks, by 16.2 points when matched for time.

Compared with supervised aerobic exercise twice a week for 24 weeks [11]

One small 1996 trial at high doses found more muscle size and strength in young men with normal testosterone, most with training.

One small study without placebo found higher testosterone and grip strength over 5 weeks in active adults aged 57 to 72. The maker funded it.

Limited evidence: curcumin lowered soreness and muscle damage markers after hard exercise in some trials, but certainty was very low.

Small trials found less pain and better quality of life scores in people with fibromyalgia after a course of sessions, compared with rest or usual care.

Limited evidence: pain and disability scores fell after a course of sessions in two studies with no control group.