How To Treat Sore Muscles After Workout – Delayed muscle soreness, also known as DOMS, describes muscle soreness and stiffness that occurs after very intense exercise. Twenty20
“It’s going to hurt tomorrow.” We all say it after a really grueling workout or back in the gym after a long break.
How To Treat Sore Muscles After Workout
Delayed muscle soreness, often referred to as DOMS, describes muscle soreness and stiffness that occurs after a heavy workload. It usually peaks around 24 to 48 hours after leaving the gym, explains exercise physiologist Matt Unthank, CSCS, exercise director for Crossover Symmetry. “Although the process is complex and remains to be fully understood, it is widely seen as an inflammatory response resulting from damage to muscle tissue.”
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But that damage isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “For a fit person who works out regularly, I would really consider the occasional attack of DOMS to be a good thing,” says Unthank. “This represents an increase in intensity and the inclusion of new movements in the training program, both of which are very good things for an exercise program.” After all, in order for your muscles to recover, grow and get stronger, you must first give them something to repair. And we’re talking about the same microscopic tears in your muscles that can send you reeling in the morning after a workout.
So how can you kill the pain without killing your results? Just unpack these five research-proven strategies.
The Science: Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that marathon runners who consumed tart cherry juice five days before, the day before and 48 hours after their race reduced muscle soreness. And how’s this for the cherry on top? The athletes also showed signs of improved muscle recovery and function. Sour cherries are rich in anthocyanins, colorful antioxidant compounds that are believed to work wonders by reducing excess inflammation.
Try it: “Under normal exercise conditions, good nutrition is enough to get antioxidants where they are needed,” says Unthank. But for an extra boost, you can mix sour cherries, or just their juice, into your regular diet. A few servings per week, along with general nutritious food, is sufficient during regular exercise. However, if you’re preparing for a marathon, switching to a once-a-day schedule may be beneficial. Don’t like cherries? Red raspberries are another good source.
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The Science: Several studies have shown that consuming caffeine before a workout can reduce muscle soreness and subsequent fatigue. In a study published in the Journal of Pain, the strategy provided athletes with a 48 percent reduction in DOMS. In addition to making things better, caffeine has analgesic (pain-relieving properties), which is why it’s commonly found in over-the-counter pain relievers.
Try it: An hour before a particularly grueling workout, drink two cups of coffee (the amount of caffeine used in a Journal of Pain study). Bonus: 2014 PLOS ONE research shows that coffee is as hydrating as water, which is important to keep in mind when trying to combat sore muscles. Dehydration during exercise can significantly worsen DOMS symptoms, according to the Journal of Athletic Training.
Science: Finally, the reason for these spa days. Research from a 2014 study found that post-workout massages can significantly reduce pain. And in the long term, regular massage can increase the body’s ability to fight DOMS. Another study from 2015 showed that massaged muscles contain more blood vessels than non-massaged muscles, which can lead to better recovery. They also showed only half the scar tissue that the unmassaged muscle did. Not bad for a quiet me-time.
Try it: Schedule a sports massage right after you work out. In the study, massage immediately was more effective in increasing tissue regeneration and reducing fibrosis than massage delayed 48 hours after exercise.
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The Science: Like massage, foam rolling is all about myofascial release, which relieves tension in the connective tissue of muscles. And your trainer is right: Studies have found that rolling your muscles like dough can help reduce delayed muscle soreness. It can also improve performance in subsequent training sessions.
Try it: Invest in a foam roller (we’re big fans of TriggerPoint Grid), and spend about 10 to 15 minutes with it every day. You can make it part of your warm-up, cool-down, and on non-training days, part of your overall recovery. (Also check out these five moves that you may be missing from your rolling repertoire.)
Science: Consider this permission to shrink buttons over time. In a 2012 study, women who performed a 20-minute low- or moderate-intensity cycling session immediately after a DOMS-inducing strength-training session enjoyed reductions in muscle soreness along with additional strength sessions. “A light recovery session increases blood flow, which does a number of things to naturally encourage the inflammatory process, such as lymphatic drainage, activating immune cells, and removing inflammatory mediators,” explains Unthank.
Try it: Cool down from your workout with some cardio, and schedule low-intensity, recovery-focused workouts throughout the week, she says. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t!) go heavy during each exercise for the ultimate result. Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or cycling, as well as yoga, Pilates, and other low-impact exercises are all good choices for preventing DOMS.
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Epsom salts, cold compresses, ice baths—many other pain relief techniques top the lists of weekend warriors and professional athletes alike. But not all of them are well-studied or have decisive findings, said Unthank.
For example, most of you will find anecdotal evidence to support using an Epsom salt bath after exercise. And new evidence suggests that cold therapy may not be the pain reliever everyone thinks it is. In a study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, for example, three one-minute ice-water immersions were not effective at reducing DOMS in a group of 40 people who exercised. Contrary to popular belief, research also shows that static stretching — whether done before or after exercise — doesn’t reduce DOMS.
So what’s behind these rave reviews about other methods? While it’s very likely that there really is a benefit (and the research hasn’t picked up yet), the placebo effect could also play a role, says Unthank. In the end, it’s best to stick with science-backed strategies as a staple. If you want to supplement with other techniques, of course. As long as you find it helps with post-workout soreness (and, of course, doesn’t pose a health risk), what’s the harm? If anything, happier muscles are probably in your head.
Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding simpler, healthier, and smarter ways to live. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Almost everyone has experienced muscle pain 1-2 days after a new or heavier workout at the gym or training, walking or running up an unusual hill, or after the first game of the year, but do you know what causes that muscle pain?
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This muscle pain is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and usually appears 24-48 hours after unusual physical activity. Evidence suggests that DOMS is usually more severe after eccentric exercise, that is, muscle contraction occurs when the muscle is lengthening. This causes microdamage at the muscle fiber level and results in an exaggerated inflammatory reaction.
DOMS can occur in any muscle in the body that has been recently exposed to unusual or intense physical activity.
Why does DOMS get worse 48 hours after physical activity? This is because the time frame for the inflammatory process to peak and start repairing the microdamage. Many hormones and chemicals are secreted by the body during this time to clean up the inflamed area and rebuild the microscopic tears that have occurred.
DOMS will often arrive around 24 hours after an activity match, peaking at 48 hours and being decided within 3 days, but may take longer in some cases.
Do You Suffer From Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (doms) What Can Help?
The good thing about DOMS is that each time you experience it, the muscles repair themselves more strongly to adapt to this stimulus, so comfort the pain of DOMS that you are actually doing yourself something good. The caution with this is not to overstrain the injured muscle during this period of injury (light activity is fine to maintain mobility and movement), but wait until muscle soreness subsides before engaging in strenuous physical activity to ensure that you put it down. on you do not cause any real harm.
A review and meta-analysis by Torres et al (2012) evaluated the effectiveness of various physiotherapy interventions in exercise-induced muscle damage or delayed muscle soreness (DOMS).
The review looked at whether massage, icing, stretching, or recovery exercises can help reduce the pain from DOMS and speed recovery of the reduced muscle strength that also accompanies DOMS.
• Massage therapy after high-intensity and strength training can provide some mild improvement in muscle soreness and strength for exercise-induced muscle damage.
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• Cryotherapy (icing) showed mild benefit after only 24 hours (not 1 or 4 hours after exercise). Further research is underway to look at the effects of some bouts of cryotherapy (i.e. ice baths).
• There is no proof
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