Whey protein supplementation does not accelerate recovery from a single bout of eccentric exercise

ABSTRACT

The current double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with two parallel groups aimed to assess the impact of whey protein supplementation on recovery of muscle function and muscle soreness following eccentric exercise. During a 9-day period, forty recreationally active males received twice daily supplementation with either whey protein (PRO; 60 g/day) or an iso-energetic amount of carbohydrate (CON). Muscle function and soreness were assessed before, and 0, 3, 24, 48, and 72 h after performing 100 drop jumps. Recovery of isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) did not significantly differ between groups (timextreatment, P = 0.56). In contrast, the recovery of isokinetic MVC at 90°·s⁻¹ was faster in CON as opposed to PRO (timextreatment interaction, P = 0.044). Recovery of isokinetic MVC at 180°·s⁻¹ was also faster in CON as opposed to PRO (timextreatment interaction, P = 0.011). Recovery of countermovement jump performance did not differ between groups (timextreatment interaction, P = 0.52). Muscle soreness, CK and CRP showed a transient increase over time (P < 0.001), with no differences between groups. In conclusion, whey protein supplementation does not accelerate recovery of muscle function or attenuate muscle soreness and inflammation during 3 days of recovery from a single bout of eccentric exercise.

KEYWORDS:

• Eccentric exercise
• recovery
• muscle function
• muscle soreness
• protein supplementation
• carbohydrates

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the participants for their participation in this study.

Disclosure statement

This study was part of the EAT2MOVE project and supported by a grant from the Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands, project E2Msprint25. LH, JDB, and JK declare that they have no conflict of interest. LJCvL, and JWvD have received research grants, consulting fees, and/or speaking honoraria from FrieslandCampina. LJCvL has received research grants, consulting fees, and speaking honoraria from Pepsico/Gatorade. AFMK, EGF-V, and PAMJS are employees at NIZO food research. AMHH is an employee at FrieslandCampina.

Author contributions

AFMK, AMHH, and JWvD designed the study. LH, JDB, and JK collected data. EGF-V and PAMJS were responsible for the project logistics and administration. LH and JWvD conducted statistical analysis, and results were interpreted and discussed by all authors. LH wrote the initial draft. JWvD and LJCvL edited the manuscript.

All authors approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. LH and JWvD are accountable for data accuracy and integrity.

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands [E2Msprint25].