Effects of a systemic enzyme therapy in healthy active adults after exhaustive eccentric exercise: a randomised, two-stage, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

Systemic enzyme therapy may improve symptoms of exhaustive eccentric exercise due to anti-inflammatory properties. In a randomised, placebo-controlled, two-stage clinical trial, systemic enzyme therapy (Wobenzym) was administered for 72 hours before and 72 hours following a day on which subjects performed an exhaustive eccentric exercise (isokinetic loading of the quadriceps). Efficacy criteria (maximal strength and pain) and time points were selected to account for the multidimensional nature of exercise-induced muscle damage symptoms. Subjects were randomised in a crossover (stage I, n=28) and parallel group design (stage II, n=44).

Tobias Marzin, Gerhard Lorkowski, Claudia Reule, Stefanie Rau, Elisabeth Pabst, Johannes C Vester, Helmut Pabst