Cindy Romain, Tomás T. Freitas, Francisco J. Martínez‐Noguera, Caroline Laurent, Sylvie Gaillet, Linda H. Chung, Pedro E. Alcaraz, Julien Cases

High-intensity exercises are known to provoke delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Delayed onset muscle soreness typically occurs within the first 24 h, peaks between 24 and 72 h, and can last as long as 5-7 days post-exercise. Delayed onset muscle soreness is a multifactorial process involving both mechanical and biochemical components, associated with clinical features that may limit range of motion, and athletes seek for effective recovery strategies to optimize future training sessions. TensLess(®) is a food supplement developed to help manage post-exercise recovery. The supplement has been investigated on 13 recreationally active athletes of both sex, during a randomized, double-blind, and crossover clinical investigation, including a 3-week washout period. The clinical investigation was based on the study of TensLess(®) effects for DOMS management and on the reduction of associated muscle damages following an eccentric exercise protocol. Supplementation with TensLess(®) induced significant decrease in DOMS perception (-33%; p = 0.008) as of the first 24 h; this was significantly correlated with a lowered release of muscle damage-associated biomarkers, namely myoglobin, creatinine, and creatine kinase, for the whole length of the recovery period. Taken together, these positive results clearly indicate that post-exercise supplementation with TensLess(®) may preserve myocytes and reduce soreness following eccentric exercise-induced damages, and, accordingly, significantly shorten muscle recovery. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.