Allan Ryan advises: Whether you're a sports professional, elite or amateur athlete, or simply a regular gym user, trained muscles can get very sore for a few days after working out, known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Muscle soreness after a hard workout or competitive match is caused by thousands of micro-tears to the muscle fibres. As the muscles repair themselves from this damage, they adapt to the damage and increase in mass and strength. However, this process also causes inflammation of the muscle tissue with the resultant swelling and soreness. Any exercise also increases the amount of free radicals an athlete produces. These micro compounds are a by-product of using oxygen in the muscles and can actually cause damage to the muscle cells, potentially reducing muscle mass and strength. Antioxidants 'mop up' free radicalsbefore they can do their damage. The London Irish Rugby Squad takes cherry juice such as CherryActive concentrate after all their training sessions and matches to help reducr muscle soreness and aid the recovery process as it's packed with antioxidants, which have natural anti-inflammatory properties. This helps reduce the muscle soreness and quickens the recovery process.
Natural Lifestyle Magazine - November 2009