Many approaches have been used to try and stave off muscle pain and damage after exercise, but few have been effective.

Cherry juice can reduce muscle pain and damage induced by exercise, suggests a small study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Fourteen volunteers were asked to either drink fresh cherry juice blended with commercial apple juice twice a day for three days before exercise and for four days afterwards, or to drink a dummy mixture containing no cherry juice.

The blend comprised 12 oz of liquid, equivalent to the juice from 50 to 60 cherries. The fruit contains many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

The exercise was classified as “eccentric,” which refers to contractions in which the muscle is lengthened, such as in hill walking or weight lifting, or any type of exercise not previously done before.

 

There was a significant difference in the degree of muscle strength loss between those drinking the cherry juice blend and those taking the dummy mixture. Muscle strength even improved slightly after 96 hours in those drinking cherry juice during the study.

The degree of soreness differed little between the two groups, but the average pain score was significantly less in those drinking cherry juice.

Average pain scores among the participants of the test measured at 1-10 scale came in at 3.2 for those drinking the dummy mixture and 2.4 for those drinking cherry juice. 

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