If you want to get rid of athletic exertion pain, have a cup of coffee!

A new study suggests coffee reduces exertion pain and it works regardless of whether a person already had a coffee habit or not.

University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl says, "caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord (the adenosine neuromodulatory system) that is heavily involved in pain processing. And since caffeine blocks adenosine, the biochemical that plays an important role in energy transfer and thus exercise, it could reduce pain."

The researcher, a former competitive cyclist, divided 25 fit, college-aged males into two distinct groups. In one group were males whose everyday caffeine consumption was extremely low to non-existent, and the other group included people with an average caffeine intake of about 400 milligrams a day, the equivalent of three to four cups of coffee.

After completing an initial exercise test in the lab on a stationary bike to determine maximal oxygen consumption or aerobic power, subjects returned for two monitored high-intensity, 30-minute exercise sessions.

An hour prior to each session, cyclists -- who had been instructed not to consume caffeine during the prior 24-hour period -- were given a pill. On one occasion, it contained a dose of caffeine measuring 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (equivalent to two to three cups of coffee); the other time, they received a placebo.

During both exercise periods, subjects' perception of quadriceps muscle pain was recorded at regular intervals, along with data on oxygen consumption, heart rate and work rate.

"What we saw is something we didn't expect," Motl said. "Caffeine-naive individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption)."

The results are detailed in the April edition of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Co-authors included Steven P. Broglio of the University of Illinois and Sigurbjorn A. Arngrimsson of the Center for Sport and Health Sciences, Iceland University of Education.

(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)