DOMS, Muscle Fatigue, Pain, Free Radicals… and BioCuplex™

For athletes, trainers and coaches, muscle fatigue and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a deeply familiar and important issue. It is also something people in physical work or exercise regimes find significant.

Did you know that it has been established in scientific studies that even a few minutes of intense exercise causes a significant decline in both the force and velocity generating capacity of muscles, in other words, muscle fatigue?

Here's a Q&A based on published scientific evidence around the causes and remedies of muscle fatigue and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

 Q: What causes muscle fatigue?  A: Free Radicals (ROS & RNS species).

Much research has focused on how energy generating metabolites inhibit the proteins required for muscle contraction, however it is now generally accepted by the scientific community that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS & RNS) cause this kind of muscle fatigue.

Q: What causes DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness and muscle fatigue?  A: Free Radicals. 

 Evidenced based research has shown that 'delayed onset muscle soreness' (DOMS) is a result of ROS and that pre-treatment of the muscle with an ‘ROS scavenger’ (anti-oxidant) can meaningfully reduce the development of DOMS and muscle fatigue, allowing athletes to train and perform harder.^1–10

 Q: What can reduce these symptoms?  A: A muscle pre-treatment with a significant antioxidant (ROS scavenger) can meaningfully reduce both DOMS and muscle fatigue.

Q: Does the BioCuplex™ in Blue Healer have proven levels of significant antioxidant activity? A. Yes, third party laboratory proof shows it has significant free radical scavenging activity. 

BioCuplex™ has scientific evidence from independent third-party laboratories of being a particularly effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger and has proven to be deeply absorbed through the epidermis within a topical formulation. 

Blue Healer with BioCuplex™ may now be the most effective topical treatment to both slow muscle fatigue and significantly reduce DOMS.

The athletes who have been using Blue Healer Care products for years have found the formula with BioCuplex™ benefits their muscle recovery and relieves soreness, according to their reports.

Further independent scientific research specifically on BioCuplex™ in this regard is underway, soon to be published in peer-reviewed scientific literature.

1. Retamoso LT, Silveira MEJ, Lima FD, et al. Increased xanthine oxidase-related ROS production and TRPV1 synthesis preceding DOMS post-eccentric exercise in rats. Life Sci. 2016;152:52-59. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2016.03.029

2. Cheng AJ, Yamada T, Rassier DE, Andersson DC, Westerblad H, Lanner JT. Reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and contractile function in skeletal muscle during fatigue and recovery. J Physiol. 2016;594(18):5149-5160. doi:10.1113/JP270650

3. Debold EP. Potential molecular mechanisms underlying muscle fatigue mediated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Front Physiol. 2015;6:239.

4. doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00239

5. Drobnic F, Riera J, Appendino G, et al. Reduction of delayed onset muscle soreness by a novel curcumin delivery system (Meriva(R)): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. J Int Soc Sport Nutr. 2014;11:31. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-11-31

6. Westerblad H, Allen DG. Emerging roles of ROS/RNS in muscle function and fatigue. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2011;15(9):2487-2499. doi:10.1089/ars.2011.3909

7. Reid MB. Free radicals and muscle fatigue: Of ROS, canaries, and the IOC. Free Radic Biol Med. 2008;44(2):169-179. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2007.03.002

8. Ferreira LF, Reid MB. Muscle-derived ROS and thiol regulation in muscle fatigue. J Appl Physiol. 2008;104(3):853-860. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00953.2007

9. McKenna MJ, Medved I, Goodman CA, et al. N-acetylcysteine attenuates the decline in muscle Na+,K+-pump activity and delays fatigue during prolonged exercise in humans. J Physiol. 2006;576(Pt 1):279-288. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2006.115352

10. Close GL, Ashton T, Cable T, et al. Ascorbic acid supplementation does not attenuate post-exercise muscle soreness following muscle-damaging exercise but may delay the recovery process. Br J Nutr. 2006;95(5):976-981. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16611389.

11. Close GL, Ashton T, Cable T, et al. Reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and contractile function in skeletal muscle during fatigue and recovery. J Physiol. 2008;576(2):169-179. doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00239

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