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The Effects of Pre-Exercise Ginger Supplementation on Muscle Damage and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Effects of Pre-Exercise Ginger Supplementation on Muscle Damage and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Melissa D Matsumura, Gerald S Zavorsky and James M Smoliga
Phytotherapy research, v 29(6), pp 887-893
Jun 2015
PMID: 25787877

Abstract

Adolescent Analgesics - pharmacology Creatine Kinase - blood Dietary Supplements Exercise Female Ginger - chemistry Humans Male Muscle Strength - drug effects Muscle, Skeletal - drug effects Myalgia - prevention & control Pain Measurement Young Adult
Ginger possesses analgesic and pharmacological properties mimicking non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. We aimed to determine if ginger supplementation is efficacious for attenuating muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following high-intensity resistance exercise. Following a 5-day supplementation period of placebo or 4 g ginger (randomized groups), 20 non-weight trained participants performed a high-intensity elbow flexor eccentric exercise protocol to induce muscle damage. Markers associated with muscle damage and DOMS were repeatedly measured before supplementation and for 4 days following the exercise protocol. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed one repetition maximum lift decreased significantly 24 h post-exercise in both groups (p < 0.005), improved 48 h post-exercise only in the ginger group (p = 0.002), and improved at 72 (p = 0.021) and 96 h (p = 0.044) only in the placebo group. Blood creatine kinase significantly increased for both groups (p = 0.015) but continued to increase only in the ginger group 72 (p = 0.006) and 96 h (p = 0.027) post-exercise. Visual analog scale of pain was significantly elevated following eccentric exercise (p < 0.001) and was not influenced by ginger. In conclusion, 4 g of ginger supplementation may be used to accelerate recovery of muscle strength following intense exercise but does not influence indicators of muscle damage or DOMS.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Chemistry, Medicinal
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
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