Abstract
High-intensity eccentric exercise is known to cause skeletal muscle damage and microstructural changes to muscle tissue with an associated inflammatory response. Previous research demonstrates increased pro-inflammatory cytokine and prostaglandin concentrations are linked with perceived muscle soreness. The omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), commonly found in fish oil supplements, exhibit anti-inflammatory properties that have been reported to attenuate the overall perception of muscle soreness. PURPOSE: To investigate the dose-response effect of fish oil (FO) supplementation on the magnitude and time-course of post-eccentric resistance exercise muscle soreness. METHODS: Thirty-two, college-aged, resistance-trained males (n = 16; 23.8 ± 2.7 years, 81.5 ± 9.9 kg, 175.7 ± 4.5 cm, 16.3 ± 3.6 %) and females (n = 16; 23.4 ± 3.1 years, 61.7 ± 7.2 kg, 170.4 ± 6.2 cm, 23.6 ± 5.0 %) completed a double-blind placebo controlled 7-week supplementation period of either: 2.0, 4.0, or 6.0 g·d-1 FO or placebo (PL). Subsequently, participants completed a muscle damaging resistance exercise protocol (10 sets of 8 four-second eccentric squats at 70% one-repetition maximum and 5 sets of 20 split-squat jumps). Perceived muscle soreness (PS; 0–10 cm scale) was measured pre-exercise (PRE), immediately post (IP), as well as 1, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 72 hours (h) post-exercise. RESULTS: Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a group x time interaction for PS (p < 0.001), where compared to PL, lower PS scores were observed at IP for 6 g·d-1 (mean difference: 4.0 cm, p = 0.024), at 1h for 6 g·d-1 (mean difference: 2.74 cm, p = 0.046), at 24h for 4 g·d-1 (mean difference: 2.38 cm, p = 0.023), and 6 g·d-1 (mean difference: 3.45 cm, p < 0.001), at 48h for 6 g·d-1 (mean difference: 4.45 cm, p < 0.001), and at 72h for 6 g·d-1 (mean difference: 3.0 cm, p = 0.003). Other group differences were variable by time point. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that supplementation with 6 g·d-1 of FO is effective at attenuating PS following damaging eccentric resistance exercise for up to 72h. Supported by the International Society of Sports Nutrition and MusclePharm Grant
Published Version
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