Do you feel pain after exercise? Have a cup of coffee

Drinking coffee can help many people relieve physical pain caused by excessive exercise, according to a study.

The study found that consuming the right amount of caffeine is basically equivalent to drinking two cups of coffee, which can reduce muscle soreness by 48%. However, researchers at the University of Georgia warn that the findings may not apply to people who consume caffeine regularly because they are no longer so sensitive to the effects of caffeine.

The study is published in the Journal of pain and symptom Management. The subjects were 9 female college students who did not take caffeine regularly and did not have regular physical training. Within a day or two after a moderate muscle soreness exercise, the volunteers did thigh strength exercises after taking caffeine or a placebo.

The results showed that volunteers who took caffeine had 48% less muscle pain than those who took a placebo as the highest intensity exercise, while that number decreased to 26% as an intensity exercise. "if you can use caffeine to reduce pain, it's easier to transition from low-intensity exercise in the first week to longer exercise later," said Victor Maridax, author of the study. " The researchers point out that such findings may not apply to people who drink coffee regularly.

A physiologist at the British Association for exercise and exercise Science said it is normal to feel sore after exercise, which is actually a signal from muscles to exercise. Caffeine is useful if it only relieves symptoms such as pain without causing potential other pain, but caffeine also has a diuretic effect, which can cause other problems.

He added that muscle soreness can also be relieved by methods such as stretching, ice compress or massage. Rui Wilton, a spokesman for the British Coffee Association, said that many studies have shown that coffee can increase the intensity of exercise and make them exercise longer. But on the new study, she said: "it's very interesting, but we shouldn't get too excited about it yet. it's not too late to be happy when more research results come out."