Healthy male volunteers aged 18-40 are needed to explore what happens to muscle during inactivity

Volunteers are being sought to take part in a physiology study at the University of Nottingham Royal Derby Hospital Centre. Researchers from the University of Nottingham Medical School are investigating what happens to our muscles when they are not used, for example during casting or periods in hospital.

In the UK, the average hospital stay is four days. Although this may not sound very long, when people are in bed, even for this short length of time their muscles begin to reduce in size and strength- which can make performing activities of daily living, such as climbing stairs, difficult.

It is, however, intriguing that some muscles waste much more quickly than others, and a major aim of this study is to try and understand why.

Based on previous research conducted by the group running this study, possible suggestions for this difference between muscles include: differences in how different muscles are built and broken down, and differences in how different muscles interact with nerves. Each of these suggestions will be explored in this study.

In the future, it is hoped that findings from this study will inform future research about ways to prevent or treat muscle loss in situations where muscle is unable to be used. In addition to casting and bed rest, this may also include spaceflight where lack of gravity has a similar negative effects on muscle.

This study involves spending either five or 15 days (based on volunteer preference), with one leg suspended in a knee brace and therefore immobile. Volunteers will be provided with training on how to safely use crutches during this period.

Either side of this period, volunteers will take part in two days of testing to study multiple aspects of muscle health, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at Nottingham Trent University, electromyography to study muscle-nerve communication, and tests looking at muscle strength, balance and control.

At the end of the immobilisation period, an additional visit will be required. This visit will involve blood samples and muscle biopsies (performed by a doctor) to examine how different muscles and the whole body have responded to muscle disuse.

An inconvenience allowance will be provided for participation in this study.

Volunteers must be male and aged 18-40. Potential volunteers will undergo a medical screening before being enrolled onto the study. Exclusion criteria include: ongoing cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic diseases; recent steroid treatment or hormone replacement therapy; and musculoskeletal or neurological disorders, among others.

If you are interested in taking part, would like more information or to ask any questions, please email thomas.inns1@nottingham.ac.uk, call 01332 724601/925 or text “STUDY 4M” to 07731755075.