Research summary · Recovery and rehabilitation
Beetroot juice showed selective, not general, recovery signals in volleyball players
Seventeen university volleyball players entered a crossover trial of beetroot juice versus placebo following 200 loaded jumps. Thirteen completed both periods and formed the primary paired analysis. Recovery measurements covered the following 72 hours, with supplementation during that recovery window.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial
- Journal
- Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
- Population / context
- Women's volleyball · Post-exercise recovery
What the publication reports
Jump height was higher with beetroot at 72 hours in an adjusted planned comparison, but the overall treatment-by-time interaction was not statistically significant (P=0.062). Calf pressure-pain threshold also favoured beetroot. Agility, perceived soreness, thigh swelling and knee-strength measures showed no consistent treatment advantage.
Limits and interpretation
Attrition left a small completer sample. The publisher's current text describes a corrected completers-only analysis, which is the basis of this summary. A single positive time-point contrast alongside a nonsignificant interaction warrants caution; laboratory muscle damage is not equivalent to match recovery.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Selective recovery effects of short-term beetroot juice supplementation after exercise-induced muscle damage in trained female volleyball players
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42899516DOI: 10.1080/15502783.2026.2751785Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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