Summer is coming and with it the number of sports injuries is increasing again at the same time. Be it jogging, cycling, climbing or playing soccer – all it takes is one inattention and the ankle is sprained or the arm bruised. For some years now, enzyme preparations have also been used therapeutically for such sports injuries.
What happens in our body during a sports injury?
When blunt force is applied, blood and lymph vessels tear at the site of the injury and blood and lymph fluid leak into the tissue – swelling occurs and usually a bruise at the same time. In addition, pain is triggered by the pressure of the swollen tissue on local nerve endings.
In the course of repairing the damaged area, a slight inflammatory reaction occurs at the site of the injury due to increased blood flow and rise in tissue temperature. Various endogenous enzymes are involved in the entire healing process and breakdown of the tissue substances caused by the injury.
For example, in the case of a bruise, the breakdown of the blood pigment hemoglobin, which has entered the tissue, to the yellow-brown bile pigment bilirubin proceeds via enzymes. Thus, the initially blue-red bruise eventually takes on a yellow-brown color and fades away.
Enzyme preparations should support the body’s own enzymes
Traditional physical therapy for blunt trauma, such as a contusion or sprain, involves cooling and compression of the damaged body part.
To support and enhance these therapeutic measures, enzyme therapy involves the addition of proteolytic, or protein-cleaving, enzymes. Trypsin as an animal protein-splitting enzyme or bromelain, a mixture of pineapple enzymes, as a plant-based active ingredient are used for this purpose. The substrate of the pineapple plant has been used by the Indians of Central and South America for hundreds of years to treat injuries.
According to controlled studies, in the case of sports injuries, the administration of bromelain succeeds in reducing swelling and pain in the injured body region more quickly than if only physical therapy measures are applied. By breaking down the proteins that have entered the damaged tissue from the blood, the broken down waste products can be removed more quickly by the body’s own waste disposal system. This explains the faster decrease of swelling and consequently of pressure pain.
For this reason, enzyme preparations are considered a supplement or alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are commonly prescribed as pain relievers for sports injuries.
Preventive use is controversial
Some in sports medicine also advise prophylactic use of enzyme supplements, especially in sports where injuries occur almost regularly, such as soccer, handball, or boxing. There is an assumption that under the influence of enzymes, swelling and pain do not occur to such an extent in the first place. Whether this measure is useful, however, is discussed differently in expert circles.
Side effects are rarely observed
Enzyme preparations are on the market as combinations of active ingredients or as monopreparations. In the case of active ingredient combinations, it should be borne in mind that this may possibly lead to intolerance reactions to the animal ingredients contained.
As the main representative of the plant-based enzyme active ingredients, bromelain has been approved as a monopreparation since 1997. Since bromelain would be destroyed unprotected by gastric acid, the active ingredient in coated tablets and tablets is protected by an enteric coating. This allows the enzymes to pass through the intestinal mucosa and reach the damaged area with the bloodstream.
Side effects are rare. Occasionally, allergic reactions or transient gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or stomach discomfort are observed. It is recommended that enzyme supplements be taken between and not with meals.
