For Post-Exercise Pain, Yes, Mussels

No, it’s not just clever wordplay. Researchers at Indiana University have shown that taking a supplement of omega-3 PCSO-524, a marine oil lipid derived from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, significantly reduces post-exercise muscle damage. An Indiana University news release reports that the researchers tested 32 men who exercise less than three times a week for less than 30 minutes at a time — and randomly gave them either the marine oil supplement or a placebo for 26 days before a muscle-damaging exercise session and for 96 hours afterwards. The exercise session consisted of high intensity running for 20 minutes downhill on a treadmill, and the body’s reaction to the muscle-damaging exercise regimen was tested immediately, and at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours post-workout. What did they find? The envelope please…The men who were given the supplement had less muscle soreness, less muscle pain, less strength loss, less fatigue and even less inflammatory proteins evident in their bloodstreams. Two more things: The pharmaceutical name of the supplement is Lyprinol, or Omega XL in the United States, and it used to reduce the effects of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and exercise-induced asthma. And this: the Indiana study was funded by Pharmalink International LTD, the company that develops Lyprinol.