Maridakis, V., O'Connor, P. J., Dudley, G. A., & McCully, K. (2006). Caffeine attenuates delayed onset muscle pain following eccentric exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(5), Supplement abstract 1332.

This experiment examined the effects of a 5 mg/kgBW dose of caffeine on delayed onset muscle pain intensity and force loss in response to 64 eccentric actions of the dominant quadriceps induced by electrical stimulation. College-aged females (N=9) ingested caffeine or placebo 24 and 48 hours following electrically stimulated eccentric exercise of the quadriceps. One hour after ingestion, maximal voluntary isometric contractions and submaximal voluntary eccentric actions were used to determine whether caffeine attenuates muscle pain intensity or force loss during activation of damaged quadriceps. Pain intensity was measured using a 0 to 100 visual analog scale.

Caffeine produced a large statistically significant hypoalgesia during the maximal voluntary isometric contractions. The reduction in pain scores during submaximal voluntary eccentric actions was smaller as was the increase in maximal voluntary isometric contraction force.

Implication. Caffeine can produce substantial reductions in delayed onset muscle injury pain resulting from eccentric exercise.

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