Tissue Sparing Effects: Muscle Recovery

Introduction

The “Ohio Survey." Beginning in 1960 and continuing through 1996, Milk (containing MicroLactin) was given free of charge to people who live near Cincinnati, OH, to test whether the milk confers benefits to consumers suffering from a variety of complaints. Participants in the survey were asked to drink one or more glasses of reconstituted Milk per day and received forms to complete during their participation in the program. Many people reported relief from muscle soreness, usually due to unaccustomed strenuous exercise. Numerically, 78.5% of the 659 people who took the milk because of muscle soreness reported benefits.

These and other anecdotal reports primarily from athletes prompted controlled clinical investigation.

Double-blind Controlled Trial on the Effect of Stolle Milk on Recovery after Exercise in Highly Trained Runners

Investigators: George H. Krick, MD, Cedar Medical Center; Dr. Roberta Wilson, Professor of Exercise Physiology, University of Puget Sound; Ms. Karen Wilbur, Study Coordinator, Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.

The objective of the study was to compare the safety and efficacy of milk powder containing MicroLactin with a commercially obtained (placebo) milk powder as an ergogenic aid to performance enhancement in non-seasonal, highly trained runners.

Methods: Twenty highly trained, non-seasonal, distance runners who had been consistently running for three or more years were recruited to participate in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. After a 4-week baseline period during which all runners consumed 45 gm of placebo nonfat dry milk reconstituted in water twice daily, runners were randomized into MicroLactin Milk (n=10) and control milk (n=8) groups and followed for a period of six months. Runners were asked to record their performance, recovery times, training satisfaction, and other comments in daily diaries. Muscle Flexibility: Technical Basis June 8, 2000 Page 2 of 2 S · M · B · I Additionally, blood samples were collected for clinical chemistry including creatine kinase (CK), an enzymatic marker of muscle breakdown.

Results

Safety. Both MicroLactin Milk and control milk were well tolerated. No changes in vital signs or clinical chemistry parameters, or differences between treatment and control groups were detected.

Efficacy. After the six month treatment period, 75% of the MicroLactin Milk runners reported overall improvement in training and racing versus 20% of the runners on control milk. “Overall improvement” correlated with improvement in recovery times between training or racing episodes. To test whether improved recovery was real or imaginary, blood samples collected before and after competitive races were analyzed for CK as an index of muscle recovery. Twenty-four hour post race CK activity was decreased significantly over time (p = 0.003) in the SMBI Milk runners but showed no change in control milk runners, demonstrating a steady improvement in muscle recovery throughout the six month study period. These findings provide laboratory verification that Milk containing MicroLactin has the effect of reducing muscle damage and enhancing recovery following strenuous exercise.