A cup of coffee may be just what you need to get going in the morning, but researchers are finding that it can also keep athletes at the top of their game and free from pain.

RunnersWorld.com notes several studies that indicate the boost from caffeine improves performance.

For instance, one in Australia showed that people who were given caffeine before a sprinting workout ran faster than those who weren't.

And the magazine points out that the jolt doesn't have to come from a cup of coffee. While an old fashioned drip coffee contains about 130 milligrams of caffeine, a Red Bull has about 80 milligrams. A bottle of iced tea has about 40 milligrams, and even chocolate milk can pack 5 milligrams of caffeine.

How Caffeine Fights Pain

A new study from the University of Illinois in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that coffee may dull the nerves that tell your brain you're hurting.

That means that coffee or another caffeinated drink before working out could help reduce aches and pains.

Caffeine is also widely accepted as a way to help relieve the pain from migraine headaches, Denver television station KMGH reported.

The study was prompted by the habit of world-class athletes of loading up on caffeine in order to improve their performance.

"It was thought to be because of an effect on metabolism, but research did not show that to be true," said Dr. Dianne McCallister, the chief medical officer at Porter Adventist

Researchers took 25 participants and did baseline studies on a bike, with the subjects recording muscle pain, and measured the intensity of the workout. They then gave one group a pill with caffeine the equivalent of two to three cups of coffee. The other group was given a placebo without caffeine.

Those who took the caffeine pills had a measurable decrease in muscle pain compared to their first exercise session. Those who had the placebo did not show any change.

"There is not any tolerance to caffeine that plays in here. So, those of us who start every day with coffee will see the same benefit in pain reduction as those who don't drink caffeine at all," said McCallister.

"As with everything, caffeine has side effects if you drink too much," said McCallister.

The study involved two to three cups of caffeine, and the doctor says that is a safe level for most people.

If you have questions, you should talk to your physician about whether this is a good idea for you.

And while some people worry that caffeine can dehydrate people -- since it causes increased urination -- RunnersWorld said that you can have about 550 milligrams of caffeine from about five cups of coffee before the dehydration risk kicks in.