Wrong again, sort of, this time about vastus medialis isolation ∞
Debunkers like myself have said no, often and loudly, for many years. I’ve called VM isolation a “pernicious myth,” based on evidence like Mirzabeigi et al — one of many studies over the years that strongly suggested VM isolation was either impossible (or only possible in the sense that what you see at Cirque du Soleil is possible, but out of the reach of the average person). In 2002, Malone, Davies, and Walsh wrote, “The concept of VM isolation through specific exercise should no longer be part of our lexicon.” Such professional opinions have been common for a decade and they are still out there.
We were wrong-ish.
My position is not truly reversed, because I still have strong evidence-based doubts that the isolation is clinically significant. The sting of this particular mea culpa is also blunted by the fact that all the evidence that changed my mind is really quite fresh. It’s not like I ignored it for years or anything. Like I did with sitting and back pain. 😜 Read all the details in my updated vastus medialis article: Patellofemoral Pain & the Vastus Medialis Myth. (All the new stuff is in the final section of the article, Is it possible to ‘isolate’ vastus medialis contraction?)