Taken as a supplement, ginger appears to reduce exercise-induced muscle pain by about 25%, according to a study in the Journal of Pain. The study showed no difference between raw ginger and heat-treated ginger.
Researchers are now saying that adenosine, a pain killer that the body naturally produces, plays a role in acupuncture’s pain relieving ability (at least in mice). One interesting note for practitioners is that, according to this study, “the acupuncture needles must be periodically rotated during the treatment for the positive effects to take place. If the needles were just left in the mice for 30 minutes, there would be no pain alleviation.” You can read more about the research here and here.
