Postexercise Carbohydrate-Protein-Antioxidant Ingestion Decreases Plasma Creatine Kinase and Muscle Soreness

Abstract

The authors investigated the effects of postexercise carbohydrate-protein-antioxidant (CHO+P+A) ingestion on plasma creatine kinase (CK), muscle soreness, and subsequent cross-country race performance. Twenty-three runners consumed 10 mL/kg body weight of CHO or CHO+P+A beverage immediately after each training session for 6 d before a cross-country race. After a 21-d washout period, subjects repeated the protocol with the alternate beverage. Postintervention CK (223.21 +/- 160.71 U/L; 307.3 +/- 312.9 U/L) and soreness (medians = 1.0, 2.0) were significantly lower after CHO+P+A intervention than after CHO, despite no differences in baseline measures. There were no overall differences in running performance after CHO and CHO+P+A interventions. There were, however, significant correlations between treatment differences and running mileage, with higher mileage runners having trends toward improved attenuations in CK and race performance after CHO+P+A intervention than lower mileage runners. We conclude that muscle damage incurred during training was attenuated with postexercise CHO+P+A ingestion, which could lead to performance improvements in high-mileage runners.

Co-ingestion of carbohydrate and pea protein does not enhance muscle recovery after strenuous exercise

“…So, a limitation from many studies is that the increased availability of total calories Apparently, when total calories are controlled, the proposed beneficial effects of the added protein are not fully supported 20 . It is unclear from some studies, however, whether benefits were the result of supplements consumed during exercises 14,18 , post-exercises 10,20,22 or both 11,12,19 . Ludden et al 10 provided evidence that significant attenuation in plasma CK can be achieved with only postexercise feedings of CHO+PRO.…”

“…That is because most studies showing significant effects have maximum CK levels between 250 and 600 U/L 10,11,14,35 , while those showing no significant effects have typically reported peak CK levels in the 1000-1400 U/L region 2,20 . Considering that the subjects in the present study already had high plasma CK before the LRT, it is reasonable to suppose that our results could have been influenced by this fact, which makes comparison particularly difficult since in other studies subjects usually had normal CK before performing physical tests.…”

“…Ludden et al 10 provided evidence that significant attenuation in plasma CK can be achieved with only postexercise feedings of CHO+PRO. Green et al 20 and Millard-Stafford et al 22 also compared the effects of post-exercise ingestion of CHO+PRO and only CHO supplementation on muscle damage prevention but neither confirmed the theory proposed by Ludden et al 10 , regarding CK indices.…”

“…The impossibility to fully control the diet could mask the effects of supplementation, but this issue still needs to be clarified, considering that only few studies had standardized the individual's diet according to the subjects eating habits throughout the study (no significant differences in calories, protein, or carbohydrate content of diets during treatment periods) 10,11,18,19,35 . Breen et al 18 did not find effects of the CHO+PRO supplementation on muscle recovery parameters, but Ludden et al 10 and Romano-Ely et al 11 have found that the CHO+PRO attenuated post-exercise muscle damage, when compared with CHO supplementation. The comparison between those studies turns out to be difficult since only Breen et al 18 demonstrated dietary composition.…”

Post-exercise ingestion of a carbohydrate and casein hydrolysate supplement reduces perceived muscle soreness but not fatigue in Sevens Rugby Players

“…However, there are only a handful of studies investigating long-term effects of protein supplementation on post-exercise recovery. [5,[12][13][14] Flakoll et al [13] assessed post-exercise protein supplementation in US marine recruits during basic military training over 54 days. Both at day 34 (6 mile full gear hike) and day 54 (final physical fitness test), protein supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in muscle soreness as well as other outcomes, such as a decreased total number of medical visits.…”