Do you notice sore muscles after you exercise? Have you ever wondered if there is anything you can do to decrease the intensity or duration of the post exercise muscle soreness you experience? Fortunately, there are safe and effective natural therapies available that can target muscle soreness and potentially lessen the amount of time you stay sore.

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a familiar experience for the elite or novice athlete. DOMS is characterized by pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. Soreness is most commonly felt within 24 – 72 hours after activity and is thought to be caused by eccentric (lengthening) exercise, which causes microtrauma and inflammation to the muscle fibers.

Traditionally, athletes have commonly relied on pain killers, such as ibuprofen, to address post-exercise muscle soreness. Surveys have shown that up to 70 percent of distance runners and other endurance athletes report taking ibuprofen or similar anti-inflammatory pain killers before every
workout or competition as an attempt to mitigate soreness. But studies actually show that ibuprofen has little effect on exercise-related pain and may actually induce gastrointestinal damage, especially when taken long-term.

Fortunately, there are several safe and effective natural therapies that may be utilized to treat DOMS. Citrulline malate is an amino acid that has been found to decrease post exercise muscle soreness. A 2010 study showed that supplementation with 8 grams of citrulline malate given prior to resistance
training decreased muscle soreness by 40% at 24 and 48 hours post exercise as compared to placebo. Additionally, a new study recently published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry evaluated the effects of watermelon juice, which is rich in I-citrulline, as a functional drink for athletes to decrease muscle soreness. The study found that watermelon juice reduced muscle soreness 24 hour post exercise in the study group.