Does Protein Ingestion Support Muscle Connective Tissue Remodeling Following Exercise?

Resistance exercise stimulates the synthesis of muscle contractile proteins, which results in gains in muscle mass and strength. These training effects can be further stimulated by protein supplementation. The force generated during a muscle contraction is transferred through muscle connective tissue proteins to the tendons and bones to produce movement. It is believed that these muscle connective tissue proteins should adapt alongside the contractile proteins to handle increases in force generation. In this study, researchers measured the effects of resistance exercise and milk protein ingestion on the synthesis of connective proteins in muscle. It was found that resistance exercise strongly increased the synthesis of muscle connective proteins, with no further effect when combined with milk protein supplementation. In contrast to contractile proteins, milk protein ingestion does not appear to further augment the adaptive response of muscle connective tissue to a bout of exercise.