Protein Ingestion Acelerates Post-Exercise Muscle Function
Numerous studies have shown that consuming protein immediately before, during or after exercise reduces post-exercise muscle damage and accelerates post-exercise muscle protein synthesis. That's very nice, but what really matters is how quickly the muscles recover their full function between workouts. The more fully the muscles recover their function before the next workout is completed, the better the athlete will perform in that next workout. So how does post-exercise protein ingestion affect functional muscle recovery?
Researchers from the University of Brighton, England, recently addressed this question. Nine subjects consumed either a protein supplement or placebo after completing a downhill treadmill run designed to induce eccentric mucle damage in the quadriceps. The researchers compared post-exercise levels of creatine kinase (a biomarker of muscle damage) and muscle soreness to pre-exercise levels at 24, 48 and 72 hours. The also measured force production in a maximal voluntary contraction of the quadriceps before and at 24, 48 and 72 hours after the run.
Interestingly, there were no significant differences in post-exercie CK and soreness levels between those who consumed the protein supplement and those who consumed the placebo. However, maximal voluntay contraction force decreased by 10 percent in the placebo group but remained at the pre-exercise level in the protein group. The authors of the study, which was published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, concluded, "Ingestion of a single post-exercise protein mixture increases the rate of force and power restoration at 48 hours, suggesting potential for protein as an ergogenic aid during the [delayed onset muscle soreness] period." |
