Abstract
BackgroundIt is well documented that exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) decreases muscle function and causes soreness and discomfort. Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation has been shown to increase protein synthesis and decrease muscle protein breakdown, however, the effects of BCAAs on recovery from damaging resistance training are unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of a BCAA supplementation on markers of muscle damage elicited via a sport specific bout of damaging exercise in trained volunteers.MethodsTwelve males (mean ± SD age, 23 ± 2 y; stature, 178.3 ± 3.6 cm and body mass, 79.6 ± 8.4 kg) were randomly assigned to a supplement (n = 6) or placebo (n = 6) group. The damaging exercise consisted of 100 consecutive drop-jumps. Creatine kinase (CK), maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), muscle soreness (DOMS), vertical jump (VJ), thigh circumference (TC) and calf circumference (CC) were measured as markers of muscle damage. All variables were measured immediately before the damaging exercise and at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h post-exercise.ResultsA significant time effect was seen for all variables. There were significant group effects showing a reduction in CK efflux and muscle soreness in the BCAA group compared to the placebo (P<0.05). Furthermore, the recovery of MVC was greater in the BCAA group (P<0.05). The VJ, TC and CC were not different between groups.ConclusionThe present study has shown that BCAA administered before and following damaging resistance exercise reduces indices of muscle damage and accelerates recovery in resistance-trained males. It seems likely that BCAA provided greater bioavailablity of substrate to improve protein synthesis and thereby the extent of secondary muscle damage associated with strenuous resistance exercise. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT01529281.
Highlights
It is well documented that exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) decreases muscle function and causes soreness and discomfort
Creatine kinase (CK) (Figure 2) showed a significant group effect (F = 7.0, P = 0.024), where CK was significantly lower in the Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) group compared to placebo
Both BCAA and placebo groups peaked at 24 h post-exercise (312 IU.L-1 and 398 IU.L-1, respectively), which equated to a 3 to 4-fold increase above baseline
Summary
It is well documented that exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) decreases muscle function and causes soreness and discomfort. In an attempt to reduce the negative effects of EIMD a number of interventions have been explored; these include cold water immersions [7], antioxidant supplementation [8,9], ergogenic aids [5], non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [10] and nutritional interventions [11]. These examples have shown mixed success, one nutritional intervention, branched chain amino acids (BCAA), have shown a reasonable degree of efficacy in reducing the effects of EIMD; in the most part following strenuous endurance exercise. Studies examining recovery from heavy endurance activity [15,16,17,18] have shown evidence that BCAA are beneficial in reducing muscle damage and accelerating the recovery process
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