You’ve experienced muscle soreness after a workout, right? You
give it your all at the gym, on the tennis court, in the pool --
and then, ouch. Well, here’s an easy, safe, natural and inexpensive
cure that will mean you don’t have to treat yourself so gingerly --
take ginger!
Long used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine as a
remedy for ailments such as nausea, indigestion, flatulence, flu,
diarrhea, motion sickness and osteoarthritis, ginger (Zingiber
officinale) now has been scientifically proven to be helpful
in relieving muscle pain and soreness. A new study shows that
taking daily doses of ginger can ease the aches and pains that
follow strenuous exercise.
THE GINGER STUDY
Researchers at the University of Georgia studied whether daily
doses of ginger can inhibit exercise-related muscle pain. One group
of 34 participants consumed capsules filled with two grams of raw
(untreated) ginger (this is equivalent to the 500-mg capsules of
raw ginger sold in health-food stores). A second group of 40 people
took two grams of heat-treated ginger (earlier studies had shown
that heating ginger may increase its pain-relieving properties). A
third group took a placebo. All participants consumed their
capsules for 11 consecutive days -- seven days before... the day
of... and three days after a high-intensity weight-lifting session
(designed to induce muscle pain and inflammation) performed on the
eighth day.
Measuring several different variables, including effort and
pain intensity (reported by participants)... range of motion...
strength... and levels of prostaglandins (inflammation-mediators
involved in pain), researchers found that...
- Participants taking daily raw ginger
supplements reported 25% less exercise-induced pain than the
placebo group.
- Participants taking daily
heat-treated ginger had 23% less pain than the placebo
group.
WHY GINGER HELPS
Patrick O’Connor, PhD, led the research study. He told me that
ginger works much like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen) do, by inhibiting
prostaglandin production. Unlike NSAIDs, ginger also serves to
desensitize a type of pain receptor found in the peripheral nerves
known as TRPV1 and it also reduces the body’s
production of inflammatory chemicals
called cytokines, said Dr. O’Connor. These results
were published in the September 2010 issue of The Journal
of Pain.
Muscle aches and pains are common among athletes --
particularly serious ones, older ones and weekend warriors. If you
fall into any of those categories, you may want to consider taking
ginger to minimize your post-workout agony. Although this study
didn’t test the efficacy of ginger against NSAIDs, Dr. O’Connor
told me that the study participants experienced greater pain relief
than did those in similar tests of ibuprofen and naproxen, but
without the NSAID-related risks of stomach irritation and
ulcers.
TRY IT AT HOME
If you’d like to give this a try, Dr. O’Connor suggests
purchasing ginger capsules that contain a standardized extract with
a gingerol content of 5%. Take one two-gram daily dose for several
days before and after planned workouts.
If you love the taste of ginger: Kitchen
equivalents are as follows -- a two-gram dose of raw ginger in
capsule form is roughly equivalent to one teaspoon of powdered
ginger... 2 milliliters (about one-half teaspoon) of ginger extract
... or (my favorite) one tablespoon of finely chopped fresh
ginger.