Ginger Can Help Reduce Muscle Pain after Exercise

Two small studies conducted at the University Of Georgia have been done to examine whether consumption of ginger can influence muscle pain.  Results are published online in the Journal of Pain. 

In the first study, which was double-blind, 34 volunteers consumed capsules containing 2 grams of raw ginger or placebo, daily for 11 consecutive days.  On the 8^th day they did 18 elbow-extension exercises against a heavy weight load, designed to produce moderate muscle injury.  Arm function, inflammation, pain, and plasma prostaglandin E2 were measured before and for 3 days after exercise.  After 24 hours, pain was reduced by 25% in the subjects who took ginger compared with those taking placebo.

In a second study, with 40 volunteers, the design was the same, but the ginger was heat-treated first.  (It was thought that heat treatment, as in cooking, might increase the pain-relieving effect of ginger.)  The results were the same as in the first study – pain was reduced by 23% at 24 hours, when compared with that reported by the subjects taking placebo. 

Ginger has been reported elsewhere to have moderate pain-reducing properties in osteoarthritis, and is widely used as an effective herb for a variety of conditions, although the evidence is mostly weak.