To investigate the effect of the simultaneous administration of Homoeopathic low potencies (4 CH) of phosphocreatine and glycogen on the anaerobic work capacity of human thigh muscle.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the administration of homoeopathic dilutions of phosphocreatine and glycogen on the anaerobic work capacity of humanthigh muscle. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in the anaerobic work capacity after one week, and that this effect would persist for a further four weeks. The experimentwas performed according to the protocol of a double - blind clinical trial. The subjects were male caucasians between 17 and 23 years of age, all in good health for the duration of the test period. Sixteen subjects took doses of Phosphocreatine 4 CH and Glycogen 4 CH three times daily for 7 days (the experimental group). Twenty one different subjects took a placebo preparation at a similar dosage. The placebo preparation was 20 % ethanol in water, making it impossible to distinguish it by taste from the experimental preparation. Tests were performed on the Akron isokinetic tester. TIrree tests were performed by each subject: an initial test, and follow - up tests on days 7 and 35. The tests were in the form of explosive flexion and extension of the leg, with a maximum displacement of 195 degrees per second, for 30 seconds. The accumulated work done in flexion and extension was calculated. The subjects were instructed to continue in their normal lifestyle for the duration of the test period. Statistical analysiswas carried out, using the Wilcoxon signed - rank test to test for intra - group variation, and the Mann - Whitney U test to test for inter - group variation. Intra - group analysis of the variance revealed statistically significant increases in work done in the first and second follow - up tests for both the experimental and placebo groups. Inter - group analysis revealed that the groups were not statistically different in any of the parameters tested. Because the anaerobic work capacity increased in both the experimental and placebo groups, we conclude that the preparation was not the cause of the increase. We speculate that the increase could be due to psychological factors, such as differingresponses to motivation, and familiarity with the procedure in the follow - up tests, and physiological factors such as meals eaten or missed before the tests were performed.