ATHENS, Ga., May 20 (UPI) -- Daily consumption of ginger root may help reduce muscle pain caused by exercise, U.S. researchers found.
Study leader Patrick O'Connor of the University of Georgia in Athens found 2 grams, or .07 ounces, of daily ginger supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscle pain by 25 percent.
The study, published in The Journal of Pain, used both raw ginger and cooked ginger and concluded the muscle pain-relieving effect was not enhanced by heat-treating the ginger.
"Muscle pain generally is one of the most common types of pain and eccentric exercise-induced muscle pain specifically is a common type of injury related to sports and/or recreation," O'Connor said in a statement. "Anything that can truly relieve this type of pain will be greatly welcomed by the many people who are experiencing it."
O'Connor and colleagues conducted two studies of 34 and 40 volunteers, respectively. Raw or heat-treated ginger or a placebo were given for 11 consecutive days.
Function, inflammation and pain were assessed for three days before and after the eighth day of the study when the participants engaged in exercise that induced moderate muscle injury.
