Grounding after moderate eccentric contractions reduces muscle damage.

Brown et al, 2015 [randomized controlled study, n=32, male, from 18 to 24 years of age] aimed to investigate the effects of grounding after moderate eccentric contractions on pain, creatine kinase (CK), and complete blood counts. Participants performed eccentric contractions of 200 half-knee bends, then they were then grounded or sham-grounded to the earth for 4 hours for two days. Although there was no difference in pain relief, there were differences in certain markers between and/or within groups. The grounded group, on various days, had significantly higher neutrophils and platelets. The authors concluded that practical significance with respect to neutrophils and grounding should be further investigated. Platelet increase also may be important due to their recently discovered participation in the immune inflammatory responses. Also grounded subjects did not experience an increase in CK as the sham group did, indicating a healing effect.