RESEARCH - Coffee can relieve muscular pain resulting from exercise

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Coffee can relieve muscular pain resulting from exercise

Posted on : Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:05:01 GMT | Author : Darya Zarin

ATHENS: Coffee can be an effective antidote to ease

post-exercise muscle pain, according to new research.

A study analyzing the effects of a caffeine supplement on a

condition called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, in nine young women

found they reported less pain on days they took a caffeine supplement,

equivalent of two cups of coffee followed by the workout.

DOMS is a common pain a day or two among people when they

undertake more intense workout than normal. It is caused by eccentric

contraction of the muscles as a result of the exercise. During the eccentric

contraction, the muscle produces a force while it is being lengthened.

Though researchers have tried several antidotes for DOMS,

including painkillers, these have not been found to be effective.

The new study, carried out by researchers at the University of

Georgia in Athens and reported in the Journal of Pain, examined how intake

of caffeine supplement delayed or prevented the pain. The nine women were

subjected to a simulated workout, when researchers used electrical

stimulation to produce eccentric contractions in the thigh muscles -- enough

to cause DOMS. These women were administered either a caffeine pill or a

placebo before the workout and it was continued for two days. It was found

that the women reported significantly less muscle soreness during the

workout when they took caffeine instead of the placebo.

According the lead author of the study, Victor Maridakis,

caffeine blocks the activity of a chemical called adenosine, which is

released as part of the inflammatory response to injury and which can

activate pain receptors in body cells. The pain relief with caffeine is

stronger than that from common painkiller drugs, he said.

He says the side-effects of caffeine use should be considered

seriously before one starts with two cups of coffee before the start of the

workout. Caffeine is known to cause anxiety, heart palpitations, increased

blood pressure, upset stomach, increased urination and disrupted sleep.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/22691.html

Not an MD