Question

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5. Caffeine may ease post-workout muscle pain

Read the news article below and answer the questions at the end.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - That morning cup of coffee may be an antidote to post-exercise muscle soreness, if preliminary research is correct. In a small study of female college students, researchers found that a caffeine supplement seemed to lessen the familiar muscle pain that crops up the day after a particularly challenging workout. Known as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, the pain is common in the day or two after a workout that was more intense than normal. Exercise that involves eccentric contraction of the muscles is particularly likely to cause delayed muscle pain. In eccentric contraction, the muscle produces a force while it's being lengthened. This happens when a person runs downhill, for example, or lowers a weight during a bicep curl. Exercisers and researchers alike have tried many ways to prevent DOMS -- including over-the-counter painkillers, stretching and massage -- but studies have found no cure-all for the problem. In the current study, published in the Journal of Pain, researchers at the University of Georgia in Athens looked at the effects of a caffeine supplement on delayed muscle pain in nine young women.

First, in a simulated workout, the researchers used electrical stimulation to produce eccentric contractions in the women's thigh muscles -- enough to cause moderate day-after soreness.

Next, they repeated the procedure over the next two days, but on each day, the women took either a caffeine pill or placebo pill one hour before the muscle workout. Neither the women nor the researchers knew which pill was given on which day.

Overall, the women reported significantly less muscle soreness during the workout when they took caffeine instead of the placebo. The supplement had about the amount of caffeine found in two cups of coffee.

A. What is the research question/problem?

B. What is the hypothesis for the experiment?

C. Describe the control group.

D. Describe the experimental group.

E. What is the variable in the experiment?

F. List three flaws in the experimental design.

G. Redesign this experiment. In addition to describing your experiment using words, help me visualize your experimental design by drawing diagrams and/or pictures of how you would set up the experiment. Be sure to include in your experiment description the following: variable, control group, and experimental group.

Answer 1

A. The research question/problem is to determine if caffeine can alleviate muscle pain caused by delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after intense physical activity.

B. The hypothesis for the experiment is that caffeine consumption prior to physical activity will reduce muscle pain caused by DOMS.

C. The control group consisted of the women who took a placebo pill before the muscle workout.

D. The experimental group consisted of the women who took a caffeine pill before the muscle workout.

E. The variable in the experiment is the presence or absence of caffeine consumption prior to physical activity.

F. Three flaws in the experimental design are:

Small sample size (only 9 young women)

No mention of the duration of caffeine consumption prior to physical activity

Lack of information on the age, weight, and physical fitness levels of the participants

G. Redesigned experiment:

Sample size should be increased to at least 100 participants and participants should be chosen based on the criteria of age, weight, and physical fitness levels.

Participants should consume caffeine for 3-5 days prior to the experiment to ensure a consistent level of caffeine in their system.

Participants should be randomly divided into two groups: a control group who consume a placebo and an experimental group who consume caffeine.

Participants should perform the same physical activity, with eccentric contractions, to induce muscle pain.

The degree of muscle pain should be evaluated 24 hours and 48 hours after physical activity using a visual analogue scale (VAS) to measure pain intensity.

The results should be analyzed using a statistical method to determine if there is a significant difference in muscle pain between the control and experimental groups.