Muscle soreness, also referred to as muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness experienced by a person after extreme physical activity like heavy exercise or any other strenuous activity. Muscle soreness is caused due to the stress experienced by the muscles, which causes micro trauma to the muscle fibers. In simpler words, it can also be explained that muscle soreness results due to the inflammation generated due to the muscle cell damage.
It can be said that if muscle soreness is caused due to an inflammatory reaction, the best possible treatment could be anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. Plants and plant products are a great remedy towards the treatment of various diseases including muscle soreness. During any strenuous exercise, lactic acid is accumulated inside the muscles making them stiff and causing pain. Citrus fruits contain a good amount of bioflavonoids, which might help reduce the accumulation of lactic acid inside the muscles. The anthocyanin flavonoid found in berries can be especially employed in dealing with the stiffness in muscles since it does not allow the lactic acid to accumulate inside muscles.
It has been found through various studies that intake of at least 45 cherries per day greatly decreases the level of inflammatory substances like c-reactive proteins in the blood. A study conducted with the help of some boys with induced muscle soreness revealed that the boys who drank cherry juice experienced lesser pain in their arms as compared to those who didn’t. These people also had better stamina than the ones who were not given cherry juice.
Not only this, the cherry juice was also shown to decrease the pain caused in muscle soreness in long-distance runners, which made their recovery easy after the marathon. Yet another study conducted by the researchers proved that the anti-inflammatory properties of blueberries were especially helpful for the athletes.
There are a host of medicines available for the treatment of muscle soreness and other related disorders. But as everyone knows, these medicines can often result in some or the other side effects that are harmful for the body. Plant products or berries on the other hand are a good and practical solution for the healing of muscle stiffness since they are free from side effects and also they are good for the taste buds which otherwise get destroyed with the intake of drugs.
Summary
Muscle soreness can be very painful at times and the intake of pain killers and other drugs do more harm than relieving this pain. Berries on the other hand, are natural, healthy and are extremely good at removing the pain gradually and completely.
