L-glutamine for muscle soreness after exercise
Two articles on PainSci cite Tajari 2010: (1) Post-Exercise, Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (2) Can Supplements Help Arthritis and Other Aches and Pains?
PainSci notes on Tajari 2010:
“These results suggest that L-glutamine supplementation attenuates DOMS effects, muscle damage and downfall of performance in flexor of hip.” However, it’s a weak study, and I don’t think the results do much more than “suggest”: it was a small experiment, and they measured range of motion only (not pain or strength, both of which would have been better choices — DOMS does not particularly limit range of motion, just makes it uncomfortable). Nevertheless, this is a shred of evidence that glutamine might, possibly, help with DOMS a little.
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Glutamine is an amino acid and is not considered one of the eight essential aminos. Amino acid supplementation outspreaded to enhancing athletic performance, preparation, removal fatigue and minimising risk of injures. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is result of a combination of unaccustomed muscle contraction (especially lengthening of the muscle under load) and poor motor neuron recruitment. This study investigated the effect of L-glutamine supplementation on DOMS after 30 min ergometric exercise by comparing two metabolic enzymes (aldolase and creatine kinase) and hip flexors range of motion. Experimental double blind design was used. This study included 20 non-athletic girl with 22.8±2.6 years old and 21.45±3.1 body mass index. The subjects randomise to glutamine and placebo supplementations. The supplement group was ingested 4 weeks, three times in week and twice a day (5 g per time). The control group use placebo same as experimental group. analyses of variance and t test use for data analyses. Aldolase increased 36 h after activity than after activity time in experimental group, but in control group it was reverted. There is a significant difference in aldolase level between control and experimental group (p> 0.05). The creatine kinase increased significantly in 36 h after activity than after activity time in experimental group. Range of motion of hip joint decreased in T3 in both of them significantly, but it was recovered for experimental group 36 h after activity. These results suggest that L-glutamine supplementation attenuates DOMS effects, muscle damage and downfall of performance in flexor of hip.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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- Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.
- Association Between Plantar Fasciitis and Isolated Gastrocnemius Tightness. Nakale 2018 Foot Ankle Int.
- No Added Benefit of Combining Dry Needling With Guideline-Based Physical Therapy When Managing Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Stieven 2020 J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.
- Effectiveness of customised foot orthoses for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial. Munteanu 2015 Br J Sports Med.