Nutritional and Supplementation Strategies to Prevent and Attenuate Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: a Brief Review

Abstract

Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is typically caused by unaccustomed exercise and results in pain, soreness, inflammation, and reduced muscle function. These negative outcomes may cause discomfort and impair subsequent athletic performance or training quality, particularly in individuals who have limited time to recover between training sessions or competitions. In recent years, a multitude of techniques including massage, cryotherapy, and stretching have been employed to combat the signs and symptoms of EIMD, with mixed results. Likewise, many varied nutritional and supplementation interventions intended to treat EIMD-related outcomes have gained prominence in the literature. To date, several review articles have been published that explore the many recovery strategies purported to minimize indirect markers of muscle damage. However, these articles are very limited from a nutritional standpoint. Thus, the purpose of this review is to briefly and comprehensively summarize many of these strategies that have been shown to positively influence the recovery process after damaging exercise. These strategies have been organized into the following sections based on nutrient source: fruits and fruit-derived supplements, vegetables and plant-derived supplements, herbs and herbal supplements, amino acid and protein supplements, vitamin supplements, and other supplements.

Modulation of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage, Inflammation, and Oxidative Markers by Curcumin Supplementation in a Physically Active Population: A Systematic Review

“…In general, curcumin supplementation could be used during periods of high demand, tournaments, or competitive events to speed up the recovery of muscle function and counteract the size and progress of symptoms associated with exercise-induced muscle pain [14]. In addition, curcumin has been used in various protocols before and/or after exercise, to decrease inflammation and muscle damage through its ability to modulate the inflammatory response and its antioxidant effect.…”

“…Curcumin supplementation could be beneficial for attenuating EIMD given that curcumin has been shown to potentially help alleviate exercise performance decrements following intense and challenging exercise, as a result of membrane protective effects, antioxidants response, and anti-inflammatory action [13,14]. The anti-inflammatory properties attributed to curcumin are due to its ability to inhibit the nuclear factor kappa (NF-κB), which may be a muscle protective and regeneration agent and plays an important role in controlling physiological mechanisms of inflammation and protein breakdown [15].…”

Effect of a Blend of Zingiber officinale Roscoe and Bixa orellana L. Herbal Supplement on the Recovery of Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness Induced by Unaccustomed Eccentric Resistance Training: A Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…In sport, emerging evidence suggests that the chronic consumption of ginger may act to mitigate postexercise soreness (Wilson, 2015). Due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, the use of ginseng, curcumin, green tea, Rhodiola rosea, and ginger extract have been suggested to reduce markers of muscle damage (Harty et al, 2019). The use of raw ginger supplementation to alleviate arm muscle pain induced by eccentric exercise has shown moderate to large reductions in muscle pain (Black et al, 2010).…”

The Effect of Orally Dosed Levagen+™ (palmitoylethanolamide) on Exercise Recovery in Healthy Males—A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

“…However, there is evidence to suggest that long-term use of such drugs may impair the skeletal muscle adaptive response to exercise and there are several reported side effects including stomach issues [5]. Thus, there is a direct need for sustainable, long-term, treatments with fewer potential side effects for the prevention and management of exercise-induced muscle damage [6].…”