Muscle Soreness

In a classic episode of the venerable I Love Lucy, Lucy had a chance to meet a slew of British royalty, including the Queen. In conscientious preparation, Lucy set out to learn a perfect curtsy. After an afternoon?s practice?half deep-knee bends and half forward lunges?her overworked muscles were frozen in curtsy position. When the moment finally came, Lucy had to be toted like a doubled-up curtsy doll to meet Her Majesty.

Very funny?right?

If you recall experiencing that kind of overstrained pain, you probably found it no laughing matter.

One culprit, whether you?re practicing curtsies or working out, is lactic acid. As it builds up in muscles, lactic acid creates the soreness that we associate with overexertion. If your body?s in good working order, however, it quickly purges this excess waste product, usually within an hour.

Soreness that comes a day or two after you exercise has a different source. The delayed ache is caused by tiny tears in the muscle that become inflamed. Fitness experts call it delayed-onset muscle soreness, but you probably know it as plain old pain. It?s a signal from your body to slow down and take a rest. It?s also part of the recovery process that actually results in stronger muscles.

You can prevent sore muscles by warming up before you exercise and cooling down afterward, advises Jacob Schor, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in Denver and president of the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors. Include at least a few minutes of movement with each of the major muscle groups?the calves, thighs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, and arms.

Once the damage is done, says Dr. Schor, you can treat the muscle with alternating hot and cold packs after the first 24 hours. The contrast in temperatures works like a pump to increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients in the muscle. It also provides a flushing action to remove the tiny fragments of protein generated by the torn muscle.

While popping an aspirin or rubbing on a topical cream will help mask the pain, you may need much more to speed healing and help soothe the inflammation. Fortunately, Mother Nature provides an array of possibilities, and many of these natural pain soothers are in supplement form.

Do Some Damage Control

Even before your muscles seize up, you can get a jump on the healing process with bromelain, an enzyme derived from pineapple, says Dr. Schor. "If I know I?m going to be sore tomorrow?that I?m not going to want to get out of bed in the morning?I take bromelain."

Like the clean-up crew the morning after a big bash, bromelain goes in and picks up all the debris floating around your damaged muscle. When you overwork a muscle enough to cause pain, bits of muscle fiber actually break off. These tiny scraps of protein may clog the muscle and cause pain and inflammation. The body has to clean house.

Because it?s an enzyme, bromelain helps by breaking down these proteins and digesting them. Once the waste products are eliminated, pain and stiffness go away, says Dr. Schor.

In an early study of the enzyme?s ability to speed healing of soft tissue injuries, researchers studied the recovery process of 146 boxers. Bromelain was given to 74 of the boxers four times a day, while the remaining 72 took an inactive substance (placebo). Among 58 of the boxers who took bromelain, all signs of bruising disappeared in four days. In the control group?those who were getting the placebos?only 10 healed completely in four days.

To speed up your muscle-repair work, take 500 milligrams of bromelain three times a day between meals until the pain goes away, says Dr. Schor. If you take it with meals, bromelain?s protein-digesting powers will work on your food, not on the muscle debris that?s prompting your pain and inflammation.

Be sure to check the product label to make sure that it specifies a strength of to 1,800 to 2,400 milk-clotting units (mcu). "When it?s not on the label, it makes me suspicious," cautions Dr. Schor. "The company may not know what it?s doing, or it may have a very weak product and not want anyone to know." Bromelain is also sometimes measured in gelatin- dissolving units (gdu). Look for a range of 1,080 to 1,440 gdu.

Home-Style Ibuprofen

For all-over muscle pain, take ginger, says Dr. Schor. "It?s kind of like a home-style ibuprofen."

Ginger is well-known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Like bromelain, it also contains an enzyme that can break down protein, says Dr. Schor. In ginger, this enzyme is zingibain.

Ginger has more, including various antioxidants, which help neutralize the free-roaming, unstable molecules called free radicals that play a role in causing inflammation. As a supplement, you can take ginger in tincture or capsule form. If you?re in acute pain, take six 500-milligram capsules of the concentrated extract per day, says Dr. Schor.

Power Up with Antioxidants

Because your muscles produce more free radicals when you exercise, you should take supplements of vitamins C and E, says Mark Stengler, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and author of The Natural Physician: Your Health Guide for Common Ailments. A healthy supply of these nutrients will help minimize pain the day after your workout and will speed the healing process as your body rebuilds its muscle tissue.

To test the effects of vitamin C in preventing muscle soreness, researchers at Western States Chiropractic College gave 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C to a group of students. Another group of students received placebos. After both groups had been taking pills for three days, the students who took vitamin C developed significantly less muscle soreness after exercising than the group that took the placebos.

Vitamin C is also needed to help make collagen, the "glue" that holds muscle cells together. Following an injury, even a minor one like a sore muscle, the body needs to make more collagen to repair the damaged tissue.

Vitamin E helps reduce muscle soreness, prevent cellular damage, and repair muscle tissue.

To get your dose of pain prevention, take 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C in divided doses each day, along with 400 international units of vitamin E, says Dr. Stengler.

Train without Pain

Siberian ginseng, an herb used by Russian cosmonauts and Asian Olympic athletes, can help you train for your next marathon?or your next curtsy before the Queen. "It?s classified as an adaptogen, meaning that it helps the body adapt and recover from physical stress," says Dr. Stengler.

The herb helps the adrenal glands produce more stress hormones. Those stress hormones, in turn, help your body recover more quickly from the effects of strenuous or muscle-straining exercise.

The name Siberian ginseng is really a misnomer, since the plant is not even in the same genus as true ginseng. Still, its stimulant and tonic effects are similar to those of true ginseng. Although you may have to take Siberian ginseng regularly for a month before it begins to yield benefits, clinical studies do suggest that ginseng improves athletic performance, says James A. Duke, Ph.D., botanical consultant, former ethnobotanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture who specializes in medicinal plants, and author of The Green Pharmacy.

In your quest for peak performance, take 250 milligrams of Siberian ginseng three times a day, says Dr. Stengler. While you are training, take the ginseng for four weeks, then take a break for one week. Look for a standardized extract containing 0.4 percent eleutherosides.