Gao & Eshaghi 2021, omega-3 and exercise-induced muscle damage markers

A meta-analysis of 10 RCTs found that omega-3 supplementation significantly reduced three indirect blood markers of exercise-induced muscle damage: creatine kinase (WMD −146.30 IU/L, 95% CI −214.93 to −77.67), lactate dehydrogenase (WMD −96.20 IU/L, 95% CI −148.07 to −44.32) and myoglobin (WMD −61.49 ng/mL, 95% CI −86.63 to −36.35), with effects strongest around 48 hours post-exercise, in untrained participants, and after more than a month of supplementation; an acute single dose did nothing. Heterogeneity was very high (I² > 90%) and the authors caution the pooled result is “not reliable overall”; the included trials were small and almost all in young untrained men, and measured blood markers rather than soreness or functional recovery. Limited.