Muscle regeneration

# How important is muscle recovery? Muscles are an irreplaceable part of the human body and enable us to lead an active and active life. Excessive training, overloading, overstretching, uncontrolled movements, etc. can damage muscle tissue or individual muscle fibers. Sore muscles are a common phenomenon after unaccustomed and/or intensive physical activity. It is characterized by microscopic tears in the muscle fibres, micro-inflammation and small accumulations of fluid in the muscle. The body then breaks down the damaged structures, transports them into the tissue and thus irritates the pain receptors outside the muscle fibers. This explains the delayed onset of pain, which only occurs 24 to 36 hours after exercise. The development of your athletic performance depends on well-functioning muscle regeneration. The faster the muscle regeneration, the sooner the next training session can take place and the greater the desired muscle growth. > ## Good to know > > Genetics play a significant role in muscle regeneration, but should always be considered together with epigenetic factors. Genetics can therefore be seen as an internal influencing factor, while epigenetics as a whole can be seen as an external influencing factor. Therefore, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep, suitable training methods, muscular rest phases and stress-reducing measures are just as important as they are necessary for your muscle regeneration. # What do genetics have to do with it? Genetic variations can also intervene in muscle regeneration processes. For example, some people are naturally equipped with a larger number of so-called satellite cells. These play a decisive role in muscle regeneration. The more satellite cells there are, the better the repair mechanisms, the more efficient the growth of muscle fibers and the faster the muscle recovery after physical activity. The AMPD1 gene (adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1) codes for the enzyme of the same name, AMPD1, which is mainly found in skeletal muscles. This enzyme is increasingly used during intensive physical activity or when the muscles have a high energy requirement and ensures smooth energy production (ATP). During exercise, the enzyme keeps an intermediate product of energy production, the adenosine monophosphate AMP, at a healthy low level, as excess, undegraded AMP would inhibit energy production. - Variant rs17602729 of the AMPD1 gene: carriers of this variation show up to 84% less activity of the enzyme. This sometimes results in muscle cramps during intense physical exercise, muscle soreness and/or reduced muscle recovery after exercise. The ACTN3 gene (alpha-actinin-3) codes for the protein alpha-actinin-3, which is mainly found in fast-twitch type 2 muscle fibers. - Variant rs1815739 of the ACTN3 gene: genotypes C/C or C/T (C/T or T/C as in the table below?) show improved muscle recovery and a low risk of injury during and after physical activity. - Variant rs1815739 of the ACTN3 gene: Genotype T/T shows longer regeneration phases and a higher risk of injury during and after physical activity.