Caffeine Reduces Muscle Soreness, but Ignores the Dangerous Effects
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009A recent study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism suggests that a moderate dose of caffeine can reduce muscle pain and soreness during and after exercise. The senior researcher of this work, Robert Motl, at the University of Chicago in Champaign, states that caffeine could be a safe substance to curb muscle soreness for exercisers. Unfortunately, the study neglects to observe the fact that caffeine has numerous dangerous effects on the body.
Caffeine is a stimulant, and when the molecule binds to the receptors of the heart muscle it mimics the effects that of epinephrine. This causes an increase in the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which in effect speeds up the heart rate even more during normal exercise. The caffeine effects also potentiate the adrenal glands, resulting in the increased secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol, which increases blood pressure and promotes water excretion. The caffeine molecule easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and has a direct effect on the brain activity, affecting learning and memory, increasing anxiety and moods.
Caffeine is not the answer to reducing muscle soreness in exercisers. Regular, moderate exercise is a much healthier solution to reducing the overall soreness of the muscles.


