Several supplements have solid evidence behind them for reducing muscle soreness, particularly the delayed soreness that peaks 24 to 48 hours after a tough workout. The best-supported options include tart cherry juice, omega-3 fatty acids, curcumin, creatine, and a few amino acid-based supplements. Each works through a slightly different mechanism, and some need to be taken days before exercise to be effective.
Why Muscles Get Sore After Exercise
Delayed onset muscle soreness, commonly called DOMS, results from microscopic damage to muscle fibers during exercise, especially movements that involve lengthening under load (think: the lowering phase of a squat or running downhill). That structural damage triggers an inflammatory response. Your body floods the area with immune cells and signaling molecules to begin repairs, and that whole process produces the stiffness and tenderness you feel the next day or two. Most supplements that help with soreness work by either reducing that inflammatory cascade, protecting muscle cells from damage in the first place, or both.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherry juice is one of the most consistently studied supplements for exercise recovery, and the research paints a clear picture: it works, but only if you start drinking it before you exercise. Studies have uniformly shown that muscle function recovers faster in the days after exercise when cherry juice is consumed for several days beforehand. Starting it on the day of exercise or afterward does not appear to produce the same benefit.
The effective protocol in most research involves two servings per day for several days before a hard workout and a couple of days after. If you’re using juice made from fresh-frozen Montmorency tart cherries, that’s roughly two 8- to 12-ounce glasses daily, equivalent to about 100 cherries per day. Concentrate versions use much smaller volumes, typically two 30 ml (1-ounce) servings per day. The active compounds are anthocyanins and other polyphenols, which act as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents. Concentrates tend to pack more anthocyanins per serving (over 200 mg) compared to fresh-frozen juice (at least 40 mg), so a little goes further.
Omega-3 Fish Oil
Fish oil supplements rich in EPA and DHA reduce perceived muscle soreness after damaging exercise, with higher doses producing more consistent effects. In a study of resistance-trained men, 6 grams of fish oil per day (providing 2,400 mg EPA and 1,800 mg DHA) lowered soreness ratings at every time point measured after eccentric exercise compared to lower doses and placebo. That said, smaller doses also show benefits. Doses as low as 1.8 grams daily for 30 days have significantly decreased soreness 48 hours after exercise, and 2.7 to 3 grams daily for one to four weeks has produced similar results in other trials.
The catch is timing. Most studies supplemented for at least four weeks before the exercise bout. A minimum effective protocol appears to be around 2 grams of fish oil daily for at least four weeks, though higher doses in the range of 3 to 6 grams may work better. If you already take a fish oil supplement, check the label for the combined EPA and DHA content, not just the total fish oil weight. You want at least 1,400 mg of combined EPA and DHA per day as a starting point.
Curcumin
Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, reduces the subjective intensity of muscle pain after exercise and lowers markers of muscle damage in the blood. It works primarily by dialing down pro-inflammatory signaling molecules. Some studies have found that curcumin significantly suppresses one key inflammatory marker (TNF-alpha) for up to four days after exercise, while its effects on other inflammatory signals like IL-6 trend downward but aren’t always statistically significant.
Plain turmeric powder from your spice rack won’t do much here because curcumin is poorly absorbed on its own. The studies showing benefits use formulations designed for better absorption, often combined with black pepper extract or lipid-based delivery systems. Look for supplements that specifically address bioavailability rather than just listing raw turmeric. Dosing in studies varies, but most use concentrated curcumin extracts rather than whole turmeric.
Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine is best known for boosting strength and power, but it also has a meaningful effect on recovery. A meta-analysis found that people supplementing with creatine monohydrate had significantly lower blood markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and myoglobin) at 48 to 90 hours after acute exercise. For perceived soreness specifically, creatine produced a moderate reduction at 24 hours post-exercise.
The mechanism likely involves creatine’s role in stabilizing muscle cell membranes and improving energy availability during repair. If you’re already taking creatine for performance (the standard dose is 3 to 5 grams daily), you’re likely getting this recovery benefit as a bonus. It won’t eliminate soreness, but it can take the edge off.
Citrulline Malate
Citrulline is an amino acid that the body converts into arginine, which in turn boosts nitric oxide production and improves blood flow to working muscles. A meta-analysis of seven studies found that citrulline supplementation significantly reduced muscle soreness at 24 hours after exercise. The effect at 48 hours trended positive but wasn’t statistically significant across all studies.
The most commonly used dose in research is 8 grams of citrulline malate, taken about one hour before exercise. Alternatively, 3 to 6 grams of pure L-citrulline (without the malate salt) appears effective when taken one to two hours pre-workout. Unlike tart cherry juice or fish oil, citrulline doesn’t require weeks of loading, making it useful as a single-session strategy.
L-Carnitine Tartrate
L-carnitine tartrate is less well known but has promising evidence for recovery. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, five weeks of supplementation improved perceived recovery and soreness scores and lowered blood markers of muscle damage after an exercise challenge. It also helped preserve strength and power output during the recovery period. Earlier research found similar results with just three weeks of supplementation following a high-rep squat protocol.
The effective dose in studies is 3 grams of L-carnitine tartrate per day, which provides about 2 grams of elemental L-carnitine. Participants took it 30 minutes before exercise on training days or with their first meal on rest days. The proposed mechanism involves protecting muscle cells from structural damage and reducing the leakage of proteins that signals tissue breakdown.
Magnesium
Magnesium plays a direct role in muscle contraction, neuromuscular signaling, and the recovery process. A systematic review found that magnesium supplementation reduced soreness ratings significantly at 24, 36, and 48 hours after strenuous exercise compared to baseline, with no similar improvement in control groups. The review concluded that magnesium has positive effects on reducing DOMS, improving recovery, and providing a protective effect against muscle damage.
The benefit is likely most pronounced if your magnesium levels are already low, which is common. Intense exercise increases magnesium loss through sweat and urine, and many people don’t get enough through diet alone. Low magnesium inhibits calcium release in muscle cells, which can worsen soreness and impair performance. Forms like magnesium glycinate and magnesium citrate are generally better absorbed than magnesium oxide.
BCAAs and Protein
Branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) can reduce muscle soreness and fatigue after intense exercise. However, if you’re already eating enough protein or using a whey protein supplement, isolated BCAAs may not add much. Whey protein contains all three BCAAs along with every other essential amino acid needed for muscle repair. For most people, getting 20 to 40 grams of complete protein after training covers the same ground that a standalone BCAA supplement would, plus more.
Where BCAAs might still make sense is if you train fasted or have difficulty eating enough protein throughout the day. But as a targeted anti-soreness supplement, the options listed above have stronger and more specific evidence.
Practical Considerations
Not all of these supplements work on the same timeline. Tart cherry juice and fish oil require days to weeks of consistent use before exercise to be effective. Citrulline malate can be taken the same day. Creatine, L-carnitine, and magnesium fall somewhere in between, generally needing a few weeks of daily use to build up in your system. If you’re looking for something to take right before a single hard workout, citrulline is your best bet. If you want ongoing protection across a training block, tart cherry juice, fish oil, creatine, and magnesium are better long-term strategies.
Combining supplements is common, and there’s no evidence that pairing these options causes problems. Many athletes use creatine daily, add fish oil as a baseline, and layer in tart cherry juice or curcumin around particularly demanding training periods. The key is consistency. A single dose of almost anything won’t meaningfully change how sore you feel. The supplements with the strongest evidence all rely on regular intake over time.