Many well-intentioned workout resolutions have been thwarted by the first signs of sore, stiff muscles in the days following a visit to the gym. A new study finds that two common kitchen spices help relieve that post-workout muscle pain.
Researchers at Iran’s Isfahan University of Medical Sciences studied the effects of ginger and cinnamon on the muscle pain of 60 fit female competitive Taekwondo players, aged 13-25 years. The women were divided into three groups. For six weeks, each group took three grams (1 tsp = 4 grams) of either powdered ginger, cinnamon or placebo every day.
During the study, the women were tested for an indicator of inflammation and for muscle soreness. The results, published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that women in both the ginger and cinnamon groups had significantly less muscle soreness after exercising than the placebo group. A similar study from the University of Georgia, also confirmed ginger’s ability to relieve muscle soreness after strenuous exercise.
The researchers did not find any difference in the inflammation marker among the three groups despite other studies showing strong anti-inflammatory qualities of ginger and cinnamon. They speculated that the three gram dose may have been insufficient to make a measurable difference.
