Effect of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Recovery Following Acute Eccentric Exercise
One article on PainSci cites VanDusseldorp 2018: Post-Exercise, Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness
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.
This study investigated the effect of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation on recovery from eccentric exercise. Twenty males ingested either a BCAA supplement or placebo (PLCB) prior to and following eccentric exercise. Creatine kinase (CK), vertical jump (VJ), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), jump squat (JS) and perceived soreness were assessed. No significant (p> 0.05) group by time interaction effects were observed for CK, soreness, MVIC, VJ, or JS. CK concentrations were elevated above baseline (p < 0.001) in both groups at 4, 24, 48 and 72 hr, while CK was lower (p = 0.02) in the BCAA group at 48 hr compared to PLCB. Soreness increased significantly from baseline (p < 0.01) in both groups at all time-points; however, BCAA supplemented individuals reported less soreness (p < 0.01) at the 48 and 72 hr time-points. MVIC force output returned to baseline levels (p> 0.05) at 24, 48 and 72 hr for BCAA individuals. No significant difference between groups (p> 0.05) was detected for VJ or JS. BCAA supplementation may mitigate muscle soreness following muscle-damaging exercise. However, when consumed with a diet consisting of ~1.2 g/kg/day protein, the attenuation of muscular performance decrements or corresponding plasma CK levels are likely negligible.
related content
- “Effects of protein supplements on muscle damage, soreness and recovery of muscle function and physical performance: a systematic review,” Stefan M Pasiakos, Harris R Lieberman, and Tom M McLellan, Sports Medicine, 2014.
- “Branched-chain amino acids do not improve muscle recovery from resistance exercise in untrained young adults,” José Maria Estoche, Jeferson Lucas Jacinto, Mirela Casonato Roveratti, Juliano Moro Gabardo, Cosme Franklim Buzzachera, Erick Prado de Oliveira, Alex Silva Ribeiro, Rubens Alexandre da Silva, and Andreo Fernando Aguiar, Amino Acids, 2019.
- “Effect of branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Muscle Soreness following Exercise: A Meta-Analysis,” Michael V Fedewa, Steven O Spencer, Tyler D Williams, Zachery E Becker, and Collin A Fuqua, Int J Vitam Nutr Res, 2019.
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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