Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation for Reducing Muscle Soreness after Eccentric Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 2

Summary of findings from RCTs on the use of PUFAs for the treatment of muscle soreness after eccentric exercise.

Outcome	No of studies (participants)	ROB	Indirectness	Inconsistency	Imprecision	Publication bias	Pooled effect		GRADE
DOMS	9 (210)	Serious^a	Not serious	Not serious	Serious^b	Not serious	MD: -0.93 (-1.44, -0.42)	39%	Low
Isometric muscle strength	6 (144)	Serious^a	Not serious	Not serious	Serious^b	Not serious	SMD: -0.03 (-0.36, 0.31)	3%	Low
ROM	4 (93)	Serious^a	Not serious	Not serious	Serious^b	Undetected	SMD: -0.21 (-0.24, 0.67)	16%	Low

Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: we are very uncertain about the estimate. RCT: randomized controlled trial; ROB: risk of bias; DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness; ROM: range of motion; MD: mean difference; SMD: standard mean difference; PUFA: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid. ^aDowngraded as most of the included RCTs had critical limitation for attrition bias. ^bDowngraded for continuous variables if the sample size was less than 400.