Natural Products for Sports Recovery

In sports and athletics, getting injured is sometimes just part of the game. Muscle soreness is a common side effect of any rigorous workout, and this holds true whether you're a seasoned athlete or a complete fitness newbie. Muscle soreness might be annoying, but it can also hinder your training and overall quality of life.

It is entirely normal and often cannot be avoided; therefore, your muscles will require some time to heal and recover after an exercise. But nobody wants to be out of action for longer than necessary.

Luckily, there are a lot of ways to speed up sports recovery and reduce muscle soreness and damage caused by exercise.

Causes of Muscle Soreness

Muscle soreness is typically caused by stress, tension, overuse, or minor injuries, but the good news is that the discomfort is usually confined to the affected area. This indicates that it just affects a few muscles or a small portion of your body — the ones you've been concentrating on during your workout.

Muscles are composed of protein fibers, which are easily torn during physical activity. That's why it's crucial to give yourself time to rest and recover after a strenuous workout; it lets your muscles heal and strengthens them¹.

Several natural remedies for muscle soreness help expedite sports recovery; here are some lifestyle tips and natural products you can start using right away.

Lifestyle Tips for Sports Recovery

The most important thing you can do to enhance your muscle or sports recovery is to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle. There is no way to hasten up muscle recovery if you aren't getting enough rest and a proper diet.

Never Forget to Drink Water

Since your body is comprised of more than 50 percent water, hydration is essential for maintaining physical health. Water facilitates blood flow to muscles, thereby delivering the proteins and electrolytes required for muscle recovery².

Eat Healthily for Sports Recovery

A nutritious diet abundant in protein, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins can go a long way toward assisting in the regeneration of muscles and restoring energy levels in the brain and the rest of the body. Incorporating superfoods such as beet juice into your post-workout regimen is also a wonderful idea - plus, they are quite nutritious! Avoiding inflammatory substances like sugar, alcohol, and caffeine will help your body recover more quickly and with less stress³.

Get Adequate Sleep

While we snooze, our bodies repair and replace damaged cells by secreting growth hormones and synthesizing proteins. In other words, when we sleep, our muscles develop. Sleep is not only important for regaining energy and preparing the body for the following workout, but it is also necessary for healing the damage done to muscles during the previous session⁴.

Natural Products for Sports Recovery

Besides eating a healthy diet and receiving adequate quality sleep, a few natural products can hasten the sports recovery process. These include:

1.    Magnesium

The first natural product on our list is magnesium, the fourth most prevalent mineral in the body. Magnesium is a crucial mineral that plays an important role in many body processes. This mineral occurs naturally in foods, dietary supplements, and a few vitamins. It can assist with blood pressure regulation, maintaining a steady heartbeat, protein synthesis, and muscle and neurological function. Additionally, it is essential for the formation of bone and DNA. Magnesium is extremely important for energy metabolism and muscle function. These factors are essential for sports or muscle recovery.

Your daily magnesium requirements depend on your age, gender, and level of physical activity. Unfortunately, the majority of people may not obtain enough magnesium from their diet alone, particularly if they are physically active. The more active a person is, the more magnesium they need. There are, fortunately, a few alternatives that you might think about incorporating into your daily life⁵.

How Magnesium Helps in Sports Recovery

In addition to keeping a healthy heartbeat, it also controls muscle contractions, which is important for muscle recovery. Basically, it helps your muscles relax by acting as a natural calcium blocker. If your body lacks sufficient magnesium to compete with calcium, it is quite likely that your muscles may contract excessively, leading to spasms or cramps.

According to research, having proper amounts of magnesium can even enhance athletic performance. Generally, these enhancements manifest as enhanced strength and power. Also included are enhancements to extension, flexion, rotation, and jumping.

This study demonstrates that magnesium has additional health benefits. It is stated that magnesium supplementation can increase gait speed and chair stand time in older women. Therefore, adequate magnesium intake is essential for daily function. This is in addition to its help for sports recovery⁶.

Magnesium's impact on other nutrients is another important magnesium muscle healing advantage. Magnesium, for instance, stimulates vitamin D production. Muscle weakness and soreness can result from insufficient vitamin D. If these low levels persist, muscle mass and an athlete's performance may deteriorate. In this way, proper magnesium levels contribute to healthier vitamin levels. It ensures that the body receives the necessary nutrients. This further improves muscle function and sports recovery⁷.

Prevalence of Magnesium Deficiency

With many dietary options available today, vitamin and mineral deficiencies may seem unlikely. In the case of magnesium, however, the facts indicate that it is far from impossible. It is, in fact, possible. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), nearly half of all U.S. adults don't get enough magnesium in their diets. Furthermore, low consumption levels are more prevalent in some populations. This includes men aged 71 or older, but the number of teenagers is similarly low⁸.

Thankfully, our kidneys are capable of regulating magnesium levels. It accomplishes this by controlling the quantity of magnesium that is excreted in our urine. Because of this, magnesium deficit is uncommon, even at low doses. Nonetheless, some individuals are at a higher risk for magnesium deficiency. This covers those with digestive issues. Also at risk are individuals with type 2 diabetes or impaired kidney function⁹.

Prescription drugs might also cause magnesium deficiency. One study says that proton-pump inhibitors and diuretics are some of the worst. The ODS says that antibiotics can also pose a problem. Magnesium deficiency can also be caused by drinking too much for a long time¹⁰.

Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency

How do you determine if magnesium levels are low enough to constitute a problem? In order of severity, the following are some of the most prevalent symptoms:

• Reduced appetite.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Fatigue or general weakness.
• Numbness or tingling.
• Muscle cramps.
• Muscle soreness.
• Irregular heartbeat.

Magnesium deficiency can also cause deficiencies in other minerals in severe situations. Potassium and calcium are two. This further disrupts the body's equilibrium and might create other problems. The body lacks the nutrients necessary for optimal function.

Ways of Taking Magnesium

If you have sore muscles after a workout, you can put magnesium oil on the affected area or take magnesium supplements. Obviously, you should also include magnesium-rich foods in your daily diet. Begin with spinach, black beans, almonds, sesame seeds, and cocoa powder, and you'll notice a gradual improvement in muscle stiffness.

Magnesium transdermal treatments are an alternate approach. Epsom salt baths are a well-known example of this. Epsom salt includes magnesium sulfate. Many people utilize it to accelerate the healing process and provide pain relief. It also helps reduce anxiety, stress, and depression, in addition to soothing sore muscles¹¹.

Magnesium chloride is a considerably superior magnesium transdermal alternative to Epsom salt. Interestingly, a 2008 study discovered that magnesium chloride relaxes even rock oysters. If you have ever attempted to shuck oysters, you understand how powerful their contractions can be!¹²

The electrolyte chloride, absent from Epsom salt, is vital to numerous bodily functions. One of the chloride's main jobs is to regulate the fluids within and surrounding cells. It aids in increasing skin moisture during bathing. The epidermal layer of your skin can absorb chloride electrolytes and magnesium through the skin pores. Chloride also helps keep the pH level stable by making sure the blood is electrically neutral¹². 

Topical magnesium might be a better choice for a more specific use. This allows you, for instance, to apply it straight to a muscle cramp. You can check out ŐSIMAGNESIUM Bath Flakes, Butters, Oils, Creams, And Lotions, which contain high-quality magnesium chloride and many other hydrating and relaxing agents.

Since magnesium is readily available in a variety of forms, it is simple to test new products each week. Finding a routine that maximizes magnesium absorption may take some time, but it's well worth the effort for muscle recovery.

2.    CBD (Cannabidiol) Oil

Slowly but gradually, the stigma surrounding marijuana is fading, and we must acknowledge that a cannabis component plays a significant part in reducing inflammation and muscle stiffness. Cannabidiol (CBD) is found mostly in hemp plant extracts. It is available in various forms, including supplements, oils, gels, and extracts. 

In case you didn't know, CBD is typically used to treat a broad variety of injuries, joint pain, and even anxiety; therefore, it's useful during muscle recovery. CBD is highly beneficial for healing and post-workout recovery.

ŐSIMAGNESIUM has a wide range of creams containing CBD and melatonin in addition to magnesium chloride and other soothing and hydrating agents for giving you the utmost relaxation you deserve after a tough workout session.

3.    Apple Cider Vinegar

Finally, apple cider vinegar is another fantastic natural product for muscle soreness and cramping you can feel after exercise. Similar to magnesium, it can be consumed or applied directly to the sore area. Most individuals use it to relieve leg cramps, which a potassium deficiency can cause. Apple cider vinegar, which naturally contains a lot of potassium, can easily make up for this deficiency.

In addition, it can lessen the likelihood of developing muscle cramps and alleviate the pain associated with existing cramps. Combine 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a glass of water and drink it or consume one tablespoon of the vinegar straight as a shot. When selecting the best apple cider vinegar, seek a glass bottle with the words "raw and organic" printed on the label¹³.

The Bottom Line

Sports recovery is crucial whether you're an experienced athlete or just starting at the gym. Resting for one to two days between workouts is the most prevalent method for preventing injuries. Several incredible natural products help accelerate the muscle repair process. Apple cider vinegar, CBD oil, and magnesium are among the best, so give them a try to find out why they're so highly recommended. ŐSIMAGNESIUM Natural Products are the solution for your sore muscles.