Feeling less sore is not the same as being recovered
Branched-chain amino acids lowered creatine kinase, a blood marker of muscle damage, and lowered reported soreness. Two other damage markers and the return of performance showed nothing.
What the study found
The blood markers came down and the performance did not
Five outcomes, and they split cleanly. Branched-chain amino acids lowered creatine kinase, a blood marker of muscle damage, and lowered reported soreness. Two other damage markers and the return of muscle performance showed nothing. Feeling less sore is not the same as being recovered.
The caveat · Same small trials counted repeatedly
An overview of reviews inherits every weakness of the trials underneath it, and the same small primary studies are counted inside several of the eleven. The authors grade those reviews and report the recurring flaws: no justification for excluding studies, and no funding disclosure for the primary trials.