Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Sports Medicine Congress and 18th Turkish Sports Medicine Congress, İzmir, Türkiye, 3 - 05 Aralık 2021, ss.93
Aim: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is recognized as a kind of common muscle discomfort occurring
after unfamiliar exercises especially when a person is repeatedly exposed to high eccentric muscle contractions
or unaccustomed exercise. Caffeine acts upon the nervous system, blocking afferent peripheral sensory pathways
and central adenosine receptors, which can alter pain that it used as an adjuvant in the treatment of both pain and
headaches. A series of randomized controlled trials have investigated the effect of caffeine on DOMS. Although
some of them suggested that 5- 6 mg/kg body weight of caffeine ingestion resulted in significantly lower levels of
soreness compared with placebo, other studies found no effects. This meta-analysis was performed to determine
the effectiveness of caffeine supplementation on DOMS pain scores.
Method: A computerized literature search was performed from the earliest date available to August 2021 using
various databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus. The following keywords used in
combination to find the relevant articles: “caffeine,” “delayed onset muscle soreness,” “DOMS,” “muscle damage,”
“muscle soreness,” “exercise-induced muscle damage,” “pain,” “visual analogue scale,” and “VAS.” Quality analysis
was performed by using version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2). As a result, 7 randomized controlled
trials were included in the meta-analysis. There were 3 studies with caffeine intake before and 4 studies after
exercise inducing DOMS. Between study heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran Q test and I2 statistic.
A random effect model was used, assuming that the articles included in the study occurred in populations that
might differ. “Cohen’s d” coefficient was used to compare the means and calculate the overall effect size. Visual
analogue scale (VAS) was set as outcome measures.
Results: According to the results of the meta-analysis, it was found that caffeine intake before and after (24 hours)
exercise induced DOMS, was not effective on pain scores ([Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) -0.37 (-1.02 -
0.26), p=0.252, I2 : %66.7] , [SMD -0.26 (-0.69 - 0.15), p=0.218, I2 : %46.5], respectively). It was also determined that
caffeine use at 48 hours or beyond after an exercise induced DOMS did not have a statistically significant effect
on VAS [SMD 0.06 (-0.58 - 0.70), p=0.851, I2 : %42.6].
Conclusion: The present meta-analysis suggests that a caffeine dosage of 5-6 mg/kg body weight is not sufficient
to reduce muscular pain following a bout of exercise induced DOMS. It’s possible that caffeine may show a
hypoalgesic effect following a more strenuous bout of exercise, or in greater doses. Professionals and athletes
should look to alternative methods to reduce pain scores associated with DOMS.