**7. Conclusions**

In summary, the use of curcumin reduces the subjective perception of the intensity of muscle pain. Likewise, curcumin is able to decrease muscle damage through the reduction of muscle CK activity and to increase muscle performance. Moreover, supplementation with curcumin exerts a post-exercise anti-inflammatory effect by modulating the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8, and curcumin may have a slight antioxidant effect. The minimum optimal dose to achieve a positive impact would be recommended doses between 150 and 1500 mg/day, when administered before and immediately after exercise, and for 72 h after. Finally, curcumin should only be recommended to athletes who are willing to use ergogenic aids to increase performance, and it should be recommended only on an individual basis to modulate some of the muscle damage and inflammation caused by physical activity. Oral curcumin supplementation has been shown to be effective pre and/or post physical activity.

**Author Contributions:** D.F.-L.: conceived and designed the investigation, analyzed and interpreted the data, drafted the paper, and approved the final version submitted for publication C.I.F.-L. and J.M.-A.: analyzed and interpreted the data, critically reviewed the paper and approved the final version submitted for publication. J.S.C. and A.C.M. and A.C.G.: critically reviewed the paper and approved the final version submitted for publication. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The authors declare no funding sources.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors are grateful to the Foundation Institute of Health Sciences Studies of Castilla-León (ICSCYL) for its collaboration in infrastructures, bibliographic bases and computer support.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
