subject: What to do for sore muscles after exercise [print this page] No matter if you are an exercise novice or a seasoned workout professional, it is likely that at one point in time or another, you will experience sore muscles after workout. It often happened to me when I changed my exercise routines. There are numerous issues and concerns attendant to this type of occurrence, and perhaps the most obvious one is what to do for sore muscles. People also want to know if sore muscles mean they've had a good workout.
Prior to addressing those concerns, we should discuss DOMS. Your muscles are sore because of DOMS. Immediately after a workout, your muscles might feel fine. But, during the following 8-24 hours, it is possible that a growing sense of soreness will develop which may linger for upwards of one week. Because of the physical stress you place on your muscles, they get small microscopic tears. The tears in the muscle fiber become inflamed, resulting in pain that is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Fortunately, the damage isn't serious. They are a sign that your muscles are trying to adapt to a new or more challenging workout routine. The process of rebuilding these muscle fibers leads to increased growth.
Unfortunately, preventing DOMS is highly challenging and there isn't one catch all solution. There are a few tricks that may help in easing the pain though. While there are no case studies proving the benefits of stretching and flexibility training, many people have found it helps ease the discomfort of DOMS> Make time to cool down when your done exercising. Walking or light cardio are simple ways to cool down. Yoga has shown some effectiveness in reducing DOMS as well.
Heat remedies are often used. Research has shown that applying heat to the skin increases blood flow and helps heal the small tears resulting in less soreness. Overall, just recognize that you need to rest your muscles and give them time to grow. You may even have to reduce the intensity of your next workout if you're still sore. Listen to your body and don't overwork it. If you can't perform regular activities because of sore muscles, overtraining may be the issue, not DOMS.
It is not uncommon for individuals to seek a clear indication that their workout plan is producing results. While you won't see an overnight increase in muscle size, DOMS is a nice way of telling people they worked their muscles adequately hard. But, DOMS doesn't indicate either a good or bad workout. Soreness just means your muscles did something that they weren't used to doing. If you're sore after every workout, it might be a sign that your muscles need more recovery time.
Rest is the best thing to do when you suffer sore muscles after workout so that they can recover and grow. If necessary, limit how hard you are exercising. Additionally, sore muscles aren't an indicator of a good workout, so don't worry if you're not sore after every workout. But don't think you've injured yourself or over trained because of DOMS.
