The Effect of Ten Days cinnamon Supplementation on the Biochemical and Functional Markers of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is an unpleasant status accompanied by skeletal muscle pain and mainly occurred after unaccustomed or eccentric exercises. A great concern among the athletes and coaches is to find an easy and safe method of DOMS prevention. This study aimed to study oral supplementation of cinnamon during ten days for the prevention of biochemical and functional symptoms of DOMS after one session eccentric exercise. Twenty-four healthy and inactive male students with no sign of DOMS and in age of 19. 1±1. 14 years randomly divided into experimental (n=10) and control (n=14) groups. Experimental group consumed six capsules contains 420 mg of cinnamon powder (2. 52 gr daily) one week before and three days after eccentric exercise. Control group taken six capsules of lactose. Muscle soreness protocol performed with 80% of 1RM in four sessions and each session was consisting of 20 repetitions and three minutes rest. One week before DOMS protocol and immediately after، 24، 48، and 72 h after protocol، maximum isometric and isotonic forces، pain perception، knee range of motion، thigh circumference، plasma concentration of CPK and LDH were measured. Repeated measure ANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment was used to compare the effect of cinnamon in each session. Independent t-test was used to compare between group differences in time series. Results showed daily consumption of 2. 52 gr. Cinnamon powder during ten days significantly decrease the CPK and LDH concentrations (p <0. 0001). Maximum isometric force in the experimental group was not significant as compared with control، whereas، maximum isotonic force in the experimental group was significantly lower compared with control group (p <0. 001). Knee range of motion significantly increased in the experimental group compared with control group 48 and 72 h after exercise (p <0. 0001). Pain perception in the experimental group was significantly lower compared with control group (p <0. 0001). Results obtained from current research indicated ten days of cinnamon consumption significantly changed the laboratory and functional indices of DOMS