We’ve all been there: after a tough endurance run or tough tempo training, your muscles feel quite stiff the next day. Do magnesium supplements help against cramps and muscle pain? This is what Jeroen de Baaij, who as a physiologist at Radboud university medical center conducts research into the effects of magnesium, says.
‘Many professional athletes use magnesium supplements and have good experiences with them,’ says De Baaij. ‘They feel like it helps them recover faster. But there is little scientific evidence that as an athlete you need more magnesium.’
Magnesium plays this role in your muscles
What we do know is that magnesium is an important mineral for your muscles. It plays a role in muscle relaxation, while another mineral, calcium, ensures the contraction of your muscles. If you have a magnesium deficiency, you may suffer from muscle cramps. Then it makes sense to take extra supplements, says the physiologist.
‘But a magnesium deficiency only occurs in 1 to 2 percent of people. For most people, if you eat a varied diet, you will get enough magnesium and you will not need extra supplements.’ Magnesium is found in many food products that you probably eat every day, such as vegetables, fruit and nuts.
What is the effect of magnesium supplements on cramps or muscle pain?
Although, according to De Baaij, there is little harm in taking magnesium supplements, you should not expect miracles from them. Do you have cramps in your calf after a workout? Your muscle pain will not suddenly disappear like snow in the sun due to magnesium.
‘Quite large clinical studies have been conducted in which the participants. have taken magnesium supplements. It turned out that magnesium actually makes no difference in muscle pain,’ says De Baaij. ‘It’s not bad, but if you don’t have a magnesium deficiency, supplements don’t seem to do much extra.’
And the chance that you have a magnesium deficiency is therefore not that great. ‘During exercise, the magnesium levels in your blood do drop, but this usually recovers quickly,’ De Baaij explains. ‘It may be different if you really have a magnesium deficiency. Then we see that people get cramps as a result and then it makes sense to supplement the magnesium deficiency. But if you already have sufficient magnesium in your blood, a supplement seems to do little for muscle pain.’
Also read: These are 5 ways that help to relieve muscle pain
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2023-12-20 16:02:54
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