can caffeine curb muscle pain?

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

Here’s one way to relieve pain after a heavy workout: get your sweaty self to the nearest coffee shop!

Researchers who examined the effects of moderate caffeine intake on quadriceps muscle pain following several cycling sessions of various intensities found that cyclists who ingested caffeine experienced significantly less pain than their decaffeinated counterparts. The study participants included both regular and heavy coffee drinkers, along with those who drank little or no coffee.

Writing in the April issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the researchers said that regardless of exercise intensity level, subjects who consumed caffeine saw a reduction in pain during exercise, whereas the control group did not. Although the researchers were quick to point out that all pain is subjective and based on personal perception, they did conclude that caffeine may have a “moderate hypoalgesic effect” on cyclists who exercise at high intensity for 30 minutes.