There’s this pain that comes after exercises that can be detrimental into our exercise plan. You wake up the following day and feel like you can’t move and not able to do much. This is Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
This is muscle soreness that becomes evident six-to-eight hours following activity, peaking around 24 to 48 hours post-training and start to diminish at about 72 hours.Eccentric muscle contraction (muscle lengthens as it contracts)is more likely to be the cause because it places a higher load on your muscles e.g. lowering weights or push up position.
When do you experience DOMS?
- When you introduce a new activity,
- Increased intensity or volume
- If you’re new to physical activity in general.
Your body is making adaptations to better prepare your muscles to do that activity again. Day 1 at the gym, after doing squats or lunges with 10-15 pound weights, you can be brutally sore the next day.
But, as you continue on, you can build up from there, and you won’t be so sore.
DOMS can present as follows:
- Muscle discomfort
- Reduced range of motion
- Joint stiffness
- Local swelling and tenderness
- Diminished muscle strength
This should not be confused with acute pain that may arise during physical activity.
Here’s what you need to know about Muscle Soreness
- It is not caused by the build-up of lactic acid in your muscles.During exercise, your body needs energy, and it breaks down molecules to get that. As a result of this metabolic process, your cells become more acidic which makes your muscles feel like they’re burning. Lactate is a by-product of the metabolic process and serves as a buffer and slows down the rate at which the cells become acidic. We produce lactate all the time, even at rest. It clears your system 30-minutes to one-hour after working out.DOMS is the result of micro trauma in the muscles and surrounding connective tissues, which causes inflammation.
- You will start to feel less sore as your body adapts to your workouts and learns to distribute the workload across your muscle fibers more effectively.
However, there is also a genetic component to how sensitive we are to pain and soreness. People can be no-responders, low-responders or high-responders to soreness. If you’re a high-responder, you will experience DOMS more acutely than someone who is a no- or low-responder when given the same training load. It is important to know where you fall on the spectrum to understand how your body may respond to changes in your workouts.
- Minimal muscle damage is good;some muscle trauma is needed to stimulate protein production and muscle growth.When muscles repair themselves, they get larger and stronger than before so that muscle soreness doesn’t happen again.
- Static stretching prior to working out does not safeguard you against injury. Including a proper warm up with dynamic stretching and cool-down period will help DOMS.
What do you doabout DOMS?
- Sports massage
- Foam rolling
- Contrast showers (cold and warm)
- Drink a lot of water
- Rest / sleep
When to worry
If:
- your level of soreness does not go down significantly after 72 hours and into the 96 hours mark.
- the pain becomes debilitating
- you experience heavy swelling in your limbs
- your urine becomes dark in color.
Consult your Physical therapist in case the pain is a lot and goes beyond the time indicated above.
Written By; Eunice Kabana,
Physical Therapist,
C & P Health Center.
