...but, compared to what?

I was just reading a research article on the use of electrical stimulation to enhance vertical jump height.  There was a lot of this stuff  back in the 80s.  There were two control groups, one that did no training, and another that practiced jumping without the electrical stimulation.  The electrical stimulation showed an advantage over both groups over a 6 week training period.  But what if they compared it to a group that went though a functional leg strength progression.  One that included progressive loading.  Would it still show an advantage?  And would that technique be practical in the context of a team setting?  Don't just read the abstracts, they can be misleading.