Ginger and muscle pain after exercise
What it found
Taking 2 g of ginger daily for 11 days cut delayed-onset muscle pain after eccentric exercise by 23% to 25% compared with placebo in people.
A single 2 g dose taken before exercise did not reduce muscle pain.
What they found
Studies in people
Single dose, cycling pain
In 25 university students, a single 2 g dose of ginger taken 45 minutes before moderate cycling had no meaningful effect on quadriceps muscle pain, effort or heart rate compared with placebo.
Single dose, arm pain
A single 2 g dose of ginger taken 45 minutes before eccentric arm exercise did not reduce arm pain, swelling or loss of movement 24 and 48 hours later.
11 days, muscle pain
After 11 days of 2 g of raw or heat-treated ginger, delayed-onset muscle pain 24 hours after eccentric arm exercise was 23% to 25% lower than with placebo.
Blinding checks
Participants who correctly guessed they had taken ginger did not report lower pain than those who were unsure, so the results were not explained by people knowing which treatment they got.
Muscle damage confirmed
The eccentric exercise reduced arm strength and range of motion and increased arm volume, showing that muscle damage had occurred.
Other findings
Citation impact
The paper reporting the 11-day ginger results has been cited 340 times, and the two null acute studies have been cited 77 and 61 times.
What the authors conclude
“Chronic consumption of at least 2 g of ginger for at least 11 days reduces delayed-onset muscle pain intensity caused by eccentric exercise by a meaningful amount compared with placebo.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that chronic consumption of at least 2 g of ginger for at least 11 days reduces delayed-onset muscle pain intensity caused by eccentric exercise by a meaningful amount compared with placebo.
- They note that the pain-reducing effects may have been underestimated because participants wore nose clips, which prevented them from smelling ginger aromatics.
How it was done
Earlier trials found ginger reduced knee pain in people with osteoarthritis, and lab studies showed anti-inflammatory effects. The author wanted to see whether ginger could also ease muscle pain caused by exercise.
Four experiments were run. Two gave a single 2 g dose of ginger or placebo before exercise in university students. Two gave 2 g of raw or heat-treated ginger daily for 11 days to people who had not done regular arm weight training for 9 months, then had them do 18 eccentric arm actions.
What it can’t tell you
- The two chronic studies were small, and the paper does not report how many people took part in each.
- The studies did not assess what participants ate before or during the trial, so diet could have influenced the results.
- The findings apply to young, untrained people doing arm eccentric exercise, and may not apply to other groups or types of exercise.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by The McCormick Science Institute (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- None declared.
- Authors work at
- University of Georgia, United States
The paper
- Title
- Influence of Ginger on Exercise-Induced Muscle Pain
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- O'Connor PJ (2026). Influence of Ginger on Exercise-Induced Muscle Pain. Nutrition reviews. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuaf309Free full textPubMed 42186281DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error