Kuehl 2010.
| Methods | Randomised controlled trial (parallel design) | |
| Participants | Setting: field; USA n = 54 male (36) and female (18) runners participating in the Hood Coast Relay; mean age 35.8 (SD 9.6) years; 25 participant in the placebo group and 26 participants in the Cherry group Inclusion/exclusion criteria Inclusion criteria included an ability and willingness to abstain from anti‐inflammatory or pain relieving drugs, and willingness to refrain from seeking any other treatment for symptoms of muscle damage until the competition of the study Exclusion criteria included recent use of pain management methods (including acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, topical medications/aesthetics, muscle relaxants, injections or systematic steroids). Women capable of becoming pregnant completed a pregnancy test to rule out pregnancy prior to participation. |
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| Interventions |
Intervention Cherry juice 10.5 oz: 600 mg phenolic compounds, 40 mg anthocyanins, 40 to 50 cherries Placebo Unsweetened fruit punch with added sugar to match the cherry juice Duration 7 days before the race and 8 days during the race; total 15 days |
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| Outcomes |
PRIMARY Delayed onset muscle soreness was assessed using a standard 100 mm visual analogue scale where 0 is "no pain" and 100 is "most severe pain." After finishing the race, participants completed the pain VAS for general soreness. |
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| Exercise type | Hood Coast Relay ‐ 315 km. Each participant completed 3 running segments during the race with individual segments ranging from 5.6 (SD 2.5) km and an average total running distance of 26.3 (SD 2.5) km. | |
| Sources of funding | No external funding was provided for this study. Cherrish Corporation (Seattle. WA) provided the cherry juice in the study | |
| Notes | 2 x 335 bottles daily prior to race | |
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Unclear risk | No details in manuscript Authors were contacted via email on 27 May 2016 |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Unclear risk | No details in manuscript Authors were contacted via email on 27 May 2016 |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Double‐blind |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Double‐blind |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | Low risk | 3 participants dropped out (2 from experimental group and 1 from placebo due to NSAID use) Attrition rate: 6% |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | Study protocol published in ClincalTrials.gov (NCT00733395) All outcomes published in study protocol were reported in the actual study All outcomes reported at all time points Tart cherry juice caused mild gastrointestinal distress in 1 participant |
| Other bias | Low risk | Participants were asked to refrain from using anti‐inflammatory medication, any other supplements or seek any modality to reduce muscle soreness |