READING SLIP · 2010

The paper on the table

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces muscle pain caused by eccentric exercise

Black, C. D., Herring, M. P., Hurley, D. J., & O’Connor, P. J. · 2010

Abstract-based reading · consulted October 17, 2026. A selected teaching example, not a systematic review or dietary recommendation. Full-text methods, funding, registration and risk of bias have not been assessed.

Study design
Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments.
Who took part
34 volunteers in one experiment; 40 in the other.
Studied preparation
2 g daily raw ginger in one experiment; heat-treated ginger in the other.
Compared with
Placebo in each experiment; not a direct raw-versus-heated trial.
Time frame
11 days of supplementation; follow-up after eccentric elbow exercise.
What was measured
Exercise-induced muscle pain and other recovery measures.
Reported finding
Pain at 24 hours was reported as 25% lower with raw ginger and 23% lower with heated ginger than their respective placebos.
Uncertainty
The abstract reports no confidence intervals for these percentages. Different experiments do not support ranking the two preparations by their percentages.
What this cannot tell us
Experimentally induced soreness is a specific outcome. These results do not establish a general pain treatment or an equivalent effect from ginger soup.
Read the source abstract ↗Bring ginger to the study table →All research-reading cards →

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Sources & further reading

  1. Black, C. D., Herring, M. P., Hurley, D. J., & O’Connor, P. J. · 2010

    The Journal of Pain, 11(9), 894–903. Primary trial; reading card based on the PubMed abstract, consulted October 17, 2026.

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