Use of Glutamine for Recovery Muscle Strength

Summary

After an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction by surgery, the most important muscle of the knee, called quadriceps femoral, loses strength in more than 60% of cases, which if not corrected can progress to osteoarthritis in up to 80% of patients, compromising their quality of life.

The main treatment for loss of muscle strength in these patients is rehabilitation which includes strength and endurance exercises.However, in some cases, amino acids such as Glutamine (Gln) have been employed as an aid to recover muscle strength, but the evidence on this topic is not consistent and is inconclusive. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate if the oral complementation with Glutamine in combination with strength and resistance training can improve the muscle strength of the quadriceps femoral in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction compared with those receiving a placebo after six weeks of intervention.

Conditions

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Glutamine

At the beginning and at the end of the training session, the experimental group will receive by mouth 15 grams of glutamine dissolved in 120 milliliters of water. The aminoacid will be inside gray envelopes.

OTHER

Strength training program

One training session consists of 20 minutes of warm-up, 40 to 60 minutes of aerobic and anaerobic exercises and 15 minutes of cooling down. The exercises of the lower part of the body consist in 3 sets of 10 repetitions for healthy knee, and 12 repetitions for knee with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in a modular leg press, leg curl and leg extension machine.

OTHER

Placebo

Maltodextrin powder to mimic glutamine,

OTHER

Dietary recommendations

All participants, irrespective of the supplement that they receive, will be closely monitored by a nutritionist, who will give dietary recommendations to standardize protein consumption (1.2 gr/kg weight). Status nutritional will be assessed according to BMI ( 19.9-24.9, 25-29.9).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

  collaborator OTHER

• Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Laura Moreno Altamirano, PhD · Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-03-01

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2023-12-31

Countries

• Mexico

Study Locations