Do anti-inflammatory drugs affect delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and/or subsequent performance?
Tuesday, April 01, 2003 It has been theorized that delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is caused by acute inflammation. Researchers at Democritus University of Thrace in Komotini, Greece decided to test this hypothesis by studying the effects of ibuprofen on delayed-muscle soreness and muscle performance after eccentric exercise. Nineteen subjects participated in this double blind study. To induce DOMS, the subjects performed eccentric leg curls (6 sets of 10 repetitions at 100% 1 repetition max). Nine subjects took 400 mg of ibuprofen for 8 hours for the first 48 hours. The control group took a placebo during the same time frame. Muscle soreness, assessed through questionnaire, increased at 24 and 48 hours in both groups. However the ibuprofen group rated the soreness as significantly less at both time periods. Maximal strength, range of motion, and vertical jump performance decreased in both groups at all measured times (4 – 6, 24, and 46 hours after exercise). White blood cell coun
