Best Supplements for Muscle Pain and Stiffness: A Guide to Vitamins for Muscle Tightness

Have you ever woken up the day after a tough workout only to be so sore that you can barely walk? The last thing on your mind is hitting the gym again.

This soreness is often due to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which occurs 24 to 48 hours after exercising and is associated with exercise-induced muscle damage.

While there are many things we can do in the gym both pre-and post-workout to help prevent muscle tightness, this article discusses specific key vitamins that can help with preventing and easing the symptoms of muscle tightness, whilst promoting muscle growth.

Understanding Muscle Pain and Stiffness

What Causes Muscle Soreness?

There are a couple of different reasons our muscles get tight or sore.

Firstly, think of muscles like an elastic band. When an elastic band is used and stretched, it will be able to bounce back to its original form with ease. However, when the band doesn’t get used as much, it gets tight and more difficult to stretch. Making it harder for it to bounce back.

Your muscles are the rubber band in this scenario. The less you use your muscles, the tighter they become, making them more prone to soreness after the gym.

Secondly, your muscles become tight as a result of them being sore. Regardless of how often you stretch and exercise, sometimes we overdo it, leading to sore muscles. This soreness is often due to the build-up of lactic acid, which can leave the body susceptible to muscle tiredness and soreness.

When we exercise, we want to promote muscle growth. We're breaking down our muscles to build new, stronger, and bigger ones. Post-workout, our body is repairing the muscle tissue, which sometimes causes inflammation and soreness.

Regardless of how the muscle tightness or soreness occurs, there are ways we can help prevent and alleviate these symptoms.

Consistent exercise and stretching is the best thing you can do, but some vitamins play a big role as well!

The Best Vitamins for Muscle Tightness and Recovery

Vitamin C

Vitamin C assists in muscle recovery and pain relief because of its antioxidant properties.

Antioxidants help muscle repair post-workout, speeding up the process of healing the damaged muscle and building up new muscle. This means you’ll recover quicker post-workout.

Additionally, vitamin C helps with muscle soreness by reducing inflammation and promoting muscle relaxation and recovery after exercise or injury.

Learn more about the benefits of vitamin C for bodybuilders

Vitamin A

Vitamin A helps to stimulate your muscles to mature at a quicker rate due to the role it plays in supporting protein synthesis. So, post-workout you will build new muscle faster with the help of vitamin A.

This means less inflammation and tightness and a quicker recovery time. Additionally, Vitamin A can help reduce joint pain by alleviating inflammation.

Vitamin B6

There are many B-vitamins, but B6 specifically helps with our muscles. B6 assists in the stabilization of amino acids from any food we eat and uses it to help our muscles recover quicker.⁽¹⁾

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so when we get it from our food, B6 can assist in using the amino acids to build muscle. Additionally, vitamin B6 helps in reducing muscle tension.

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for fully functioning muscles. It acts as a muscle relaxant, making muscles less tight and sore. Magnesium can be used to treat muscle aches and pains and help to prevent future soreness by getting stored in muscle cells.

Additionally, Magnesium helps in reducing musculoskeletal pain.

Learn more about magnesium for muscle pain

Folate

Folate supports muscle fiber growth and decreases the side effects of inflammation and soreness when damage does occur. It also helps keep muscles strong as you age and become less active.⁽²⁾ Folate can also help in reducing stiff muscles.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, have anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce muscle soreness after intense exercise. They work by decreasing the production of inflammatory cytokines and promoting faster recovery.

Omega-3s are also known to enhance blood flow to muscles during exercise, which may help reduce muscle fatigue and improve performance.

In addition to their anti-inflammatory benefits, Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of exercise-induced muscle damage, promote muscle protein synthesis, and improve overall muscle function.

One study found that Omega-3 supplementation decreased soreness after eccentric exercise by 15% and prevented increases in arm circumference, a marker of inflammation.⁽³⁾ Suggesting that regular supplementation with Omega-3s can lead to significant reductions in muscle soreness and a quicker return to peak performance levels.

Sources of Omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, as well as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts. For those who find it difficult to get enough Omega-3s from their diet, omega-3 supplements are a convenient and effective alternative.

If you follow a plant based diet, algae derived omega-3 supplements such as Performance Lab® Omega-3 go direct to the source, so you get the full spectrum of benefits without harming a single fish.

Curcumin

Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It inhibits enzymes and molecules that promote inflammation, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), making it effective in reducing muscle damage and soreness post-exercise, aiding in faster recovery.⁽⁴⁾

A study found that curcumin supplementation led to moderate to large reductions in pain during various activities and small reductions in muscle damage markers after heavy eccentric exercise. The study also observed a small increase in muscle performance, suggesting enhanced recovery.⁽⁵⁾

Curcumin also acts as a potent antioxidant, protecting muscle cells from oxidative stress. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry highlighted its effectiveness in reducing oxidative stress and enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity.⁽⁶⁾

Learn more about the benefits of turmeric for joint health

Conclusion

We all know that tight, sore feeling post-workout, so the more we can do to help prevent that, the better.

The above vitamins are a great start to assisting your muscles in repairing damage, alleviating muscle pain and muscle stiffness, and also help to keep them strong throughout your lifetime.

All of these can be found in foods like citrus fruits, spinach, salmon, and legumes.

You can also find them all in Performance Lab® NutriGenesis® Multi and Performance Lab® Omega-3.

This multivitamin contains all the above vitamins and more to help fill in the gaps of your diet and promote healthy cells throughout your body. Taking 4 of these capsules daily may lead you to feel less muscle tightness and soreness and promote strong muscles and bones!

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