Muscle soreness

Overview

SupplementDEX currently indexes Curcumin for muscle soreness. See the heatmap and evidence reviews below for the full rating.

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Curcumin	★★★★★	Low

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CurcuminView supplement →

Reconsider purchase★★★★★

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Evidence Review

It is uncertain if taking turmeric or curcumin by mouth helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise.
One review of small studies found curcumin may reduce soreness, especially a few days after exercise, but results vary.
Another study found that a single dose of turmeric combined with Boswellia serrata helped relieve muscle pain within about 3 hours.
More research is needed to confirm these effects.

Browse 5 studies1 meta-analysis

MetaMeta-analysis of the effect of curcumin supplementation on skeletal muscle damage status2024n=349

A meta-analysis of 14 exercise trials in 349 subjects found curcumin reduced muscle soreness, creatine kinase, and IL-6 and improved range of motion after muscle-damaging exercise.

Effect: Benefit
Participants: 349

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RCTFast pain relief in exercise-induced acute musculoskeletal pain by turmeric-boswellia formulation: A randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded multicentre study2022n=232

In 232 adults with moderate-to-severe exercise-induced musculoskeletal pain, a single 1000 mg turmeric–boswellia dose produced meaningful pain relief within ~3 hours, with 97.85% cumulative responder improvement versus 2.46% on placebo.

Effect: Benefit
Dose: 1000 mg/day
Population: Healthy adults
Participants: 232

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RCTCurcumin and Piperine Supplementation and Recovery Following Exercise Induced Muscle Damage: A Randomized Controlled Trial2017

A study found that 6 g/day curcumin ameliorated reductions in baseline sprint mean power output after 24 hours. There were no benefits found for muscle soreness. [10246]

Effect: Benefit
Dose: 6 g/day

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RCTReduced inflammatory and muscle damage biomarkers following oral supplementation with bioavailable curcumin2016n=28

A study including 28 subjects found that 400 mg/day Longvida curcumin significantly reduced expected increases in exercise-induced muscle damage markers creatine kinase (-48%), TNF-α (-25%) and IL-8 (-21%) levels but not IL-6, IL-10 compared to placebo. There were no benefits for muscle soreness.

Effect: No Benefit
Duration: 6 days
Dose: 400 mg/day
Participants: 28

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RCTCurcumin supplementation likely attenuates delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)2015n=17

A study including 17 men found that 5 g/day curcumin led to a 15% improvement in single-leg jump performance and reductions in pain associated with delayed onset muscle soreness from squat and gluteal stretch exercises (at +24h and +48h) compared to placebo. Curcumin significantly increased levels of IL-6 (31% +- %90CI 29%) at 0-h and 48-h (32% +- 29%) compared to baseline but decreased levels at 24-h (-20% +- 18%) compared to post-exercise, with no changes in TNF-alpha concentrations. [10248]

Effect: Benefit
Dose: 5 g/day
Population: Healthy adults
Participants: 17

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Evidence visualised

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Effect-size distribution

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Study distribution across 1 supplements for muscle soreness (5 studies total).
Supplement	DEX	Studies	Meta-analyses	Share
Curcumin	★★★★★52%	5	1	100%

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