A single dose of histamine-receptor antagonists before downhill running alters markers of muscle damage and delayed-onset muscle soreness

In conclusion, histamine-receptor blockade reduced postexercise blood flow, had no effect on the pattern of inflammatory markers, increased serum creatine kinase concentrations, attenuated muscle strength loss, and reduced pain perception following muscle-damaging exercise.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Histamine appears to be intimately involved with skeletal muscle during and following exercise. Blocking histamine’s actions during muscle-damaging exercise, via common over-the-counter antihistamines, resulted in increased serum creatine kinase, an indirect marker of muscle damage. Paradoxically, blocking histamine’s actions attenuated muscle strength loss and reduced perceptions of muscle pain for 72 h following muscle-damaging exercise. These results indicate that exercise-induced histamine release may have a broad impact on protecting muscle from exercise-induced damage.

Source: Journal of Applied Physiology - March 5, 2017 Category: Physiology Authors: Ely, M. R., Romero, S. A., Sieck, D. C., Mangum, J. E., Luttrell, M. J., Halliwill, J. R. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research