How can you reduce muscle pain after exercising. What are the most effective methods for relieving sore muscles following a workout. Which techniques help speed up muscle recovery after intense physical activity. Why does proper nutrition play a crucial role in managing post-workout soreness. When should you be concerned about muscle pain after exercising.

Understanding Post-Workout Muscle Soreness

Muscle soreness after a workout, often referred to as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is a common experience for many fitness enthusiasts and athletes. This phenomenon typically occurs 24 to 48 hours after engaging in intense physical activity, particularly when introducing new exercises or increasing workout intensity. While mild soreness can be a sign of muscle adaptation, excessive pain may hinder performance and recovery.

DOMS is primarily caused by microscopic tears in muscle fibers that occur during eccentric contractions – the lengthening phase of a movement. These tiny tears trigger an inflammatory response in the body, leading to the characteristic ache and stiffness associated with post-workout soreness.

Is muscle soreness always a good sign?

Contrary to popular belief, muscle soreness is not always an indicator of an effective workout. While mild discomfort can signify muscle adaptation, severe pain may suggest overtraining or improper form. It’s essential to differentiate between beneficial muscle fatigue and potentially harmful strain.

The Role of Proper Warm-Up in Preventing Muscle Soreness

A well-structured warm-up routine is crucial in preparing your body for physical exertion and minimizing the risk of excessive muscle soreness. Dynamic stretching, light cardio, and sport-specific movements can increase blood flow, improve flexibility, and activate the muscles you’ll be using during your workout.

What should an effective warm-up include?

An effective warm-up should consist of:

• 5-10 minutes of light cardio (e.g., jogging, cycling, or jumping jacks)
• Dynamic stretching targeting major muscle groups
• Sport-specific movements that mimic the exercises you’ll be performing
• Gradually increasing intensity to prepare your body for the main workout

Nutrition Strategies for Enhanced Muscle Recovery

Proper nutrition plays a vital role in muscle recovery and soreness prevention. Consuming the right nutrients before, during, and after your workout can significantly impact your body’s ability to repair and rebuild muscle tissue.

How much protein do active individuals need for optimal muscle recovery?

According to experts, active individuals should aim for 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. For a 150-pound (68 kg) person, this translates to approximately 95 to 136 grams of protein per day, distributed across meals. Adequate protein intake supports muscle repair and growth, potentially reducing the severity and duration of post-workout soreness.

In addition to protein, other essential nutrients for muscle recovery include:

• Complex carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores
• Omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation
• Antioxidants to combat exercise-induced oxidative stress
• Electrolytes to maintain proper hydration and muscle function

Hydration: A Key Factor in Muscle Recovery

Proper hydration is crucial for optimal muscle function and recovery. Dehydration can exacerbate muscle soreness and impair performance. Ensuring adequate fluid intake before, during, and after exercise can help minimize muscle pain and support overall recovery.

How much water should you drink to support muscle recovery?

While individual needs vary, a general guideline is to consume:

1. 16-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before exercise
2. 8-10 ounces of water 10-15 minutes before exercise
3. 7-10 ounces of water every 10-20 minutes during exercise
4. 16-24 ounces of water for every pound of body weight lost after exercise

Keep in mind that factors such as climate, exercise intensity, and individual sweat rates can affect hydration needs. Monitoring urine color (pale yellow indicates proper hydration) and body weight can help you fine-tune your hydration strategy.

Active Recovery: Gentle Movement for Muscle Relief

Engaging in light, low-intensity exercise during recovery periods can help alleviate muscle soreness and promote faster healing. This practice, known as active recovery, increases blood flow to sore muscles, delivering nutrients and removing waste products more efficiently.

What are effective active recovery exercises?

Some beneficial active recovery exercises include:

• Gentle yoga or stretching routines
• Light swimming or water aerobics
• Slow-paced walking or cycling
• Low-intensity bodyweight exercises
• Tai chi or other low-impact movement practices

The key is to keep the intensity low enough that it doesn’t cause additional muscle strain while still promoting blood flow and mobility. Listen to your body and adjust the intensity as needed to avoid exacerbating soreness.

The Benefits of Massage and Self-Myofascial Release

Massage and self-myofascial release techniques, such as foam rolling, can be effective in reducing muscle soreness and improving recovery. These methods help break up adhesions in the fascia, improve circulation, and reduce muscle tension.

How does foam rolling help with muscle soreness?

Foam rolling works by applying pressure to specific points on your body, helping to release tension and tightness in the muscles and fascia. This process, known as self-myofascial release, can:

• Increase blood flow to the affected areas
• Reduce inflammation and swelling
• Improve range of motion and flexibility
• Decrease the perception of pain and soreness

A review of 14 studies published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that self-myofascial release performed with a foam roller or roller massager after intense exercise helped decrease perceptions of muscle soreness in the following days.

Hot and Cold Therapy for Muscle Pain Relief

Both heat and cold therapies can provide temporary relief from muscle soreness, although their effectiveness may vary depending on individual preferences and the specific situation.

When should you use heat versus cold therapy for sore muscles?

Generally, the timing and nature of your soreness can guide your choice:

• Cold therapy: Best used immediately after exercise or injury to reduce swelling and inflammation. Apply ice or cold packs for 15-20 minutes at a time.
• Heat therapy: More effective for chronic muscle pain or stiffness. Apply heat for 15-20 minutes to increase blood flow and relax tight muscles.

Some individuals find alternating between hot and cold treatments (contrast therapy) to be particularly effective. This technique involves alternating between heat and cold applications, typically ending with cold to reduce inflammation.

The Importance of Proper Sleep in Muscle Recovery

Quality sleep is crucial for muscle recovery and overall physical performance. During sleep, the body releases growth hormone, which is essential for tissue repair and muscle growth. Inadequate sleep can impair muscle recovery and exacerbate soreness.

How much sleep do athletes need for optimal recovery?

While individual needs may vary, most athletes and active individuals should aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Some tips for improving sleep quality include:

• Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule
• Creating a relaxing bedtime routine
• Optimizing your sleep environment (cool, dark, and quiet)
• Limiting exposure to blue light from electronic devices before bedtime
• Avoiding caffeine and heavy meals close to bedtime

Prioritizing sleep can significantly enhance muscle recovery, reduce the risk of injury, and improve overall athletic performance.

Gradual Progression: The Key to Preventing Excessive Soreness

One of the most effective ways to prevent severe muscle soreness is to gradually increase the intensity and volume of your workouts over time. This approach, known as progressive overload, allows your muscles to adapt to increasing demands without excessive strain.

How can you implement progressive overload in your training?

To safely implement progressive overload:

1. Start with a manageable baseline workout
2. Increase weight, reps, or sets by 5-10% each week
3. Monitor your body’s response and adjust as needed
4. Include deload weeks every 4-6 weeks to allow for recovery
5. Vary your exercises to prevent overuse injuries

Remember that progress is not always linear. Listen to your body and be willing to adjust your training plan if you experience excessive soreness or fatigue.

Recognizing When Muscle Pain Requires Medical Attention

While some degree of muscle soreness is normal after intense exercise, it’s crucial to recognize when pain may indicate a more serious issue. Knowing the difference between typical DOMS and potential injuries can help you avoid further damage and seek appropriate care when necessary.

What are the signs that muscle pain may be more than typical soreness?

Be alert for the following warning signs:

• Sharp, sudden pain during exercise
• Pain that persists for more than 3-5 days
• Swelling, redness, or warmth around the affected area
• Muscle weakness or loss of function
• Fever or chills accompanying muscle pain
• Dark or cola-colored urine (which may indicate rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition requiring immediate medical attention)

If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to consult a healthcare professional promptly. Early intervention can prevent minor issues from developing into more serious injuries and ensure a safe return to your fitness routine.

Supplements for Muscle Recovery and Pain Relief

While proper nutrition should be the foundation of your recovery strategy, certain supplements may offer additional support in managing muscle soreness and enhancing recovery. However, it’s important to approach supplementation with caution and consult with a healthcare professional before adding new supplements to your regimen.

Which supplements may help with muscle recovery and soreness?

Some supplements that have shown promise in supporting muscle recovery include:

• Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs): May help reduce muscle damage and soreness
• Creatine: Can improve muscle strength and recovery
• Omega-3 fatty acids: May help reduce inflammation and muscle soreness
• Tart cherry juice: Contains antioxidants that may reduce muscle pain and inflammation
• Curcumin: The active compound in turmeric with anti-inflammatory properties
• Magnesium: Important for muscle function and may help reduce cramping

Remember that supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet and proper training. Always prioritize whole foods and consult with a registered dietitian or healthcare provider to determine if supplementation is appropriate for your individual needs.

The Role of Mental Strategies in Managing Muscle Soreness

While physical techniques are crucial for managing muscle soreness, mental strategies can also play a significant role in how we perceive and cope with post-workout pain. Developing a positive mindset and employing psychological techniques can help you navigate the challenges of muscle soreness more effectively.

How can mental strategies help in dealing with muscle soreness?

Consider incorporating these mental approaches:

• Mindfulness meditation: Can help increase pain tolerance and reduce stress
• Positive self-talk: Reframe soreness as a sign of progress rather than a hindrance
• Visualization: Imagine your muscles repairing and growing stronger
• Goal setting: Focus on long-term progress to maintain motivation during recovery periods
• Relaxation techniques: Deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation can help manage discomfort

By combining these mental strategies with physical recovery techniques, you can develop a more holistic approach to managing muscle soreness and maintaining a consistent training regimen.

Sore Muscles After a Workout? 7 Ways to Improve Muscle Recovery

But more isn’t always more. “You have to be careful,” says Seedman. “Doing some light stretching can be good, but trying to overstretch the muscle when it feels extremely tight can actually cause the muscle to come back even tighter because the body is trying to resist it.”

So how do you know how far is too far? “Stretch until it feels pretty tight, let up after 5 to 10 seconds, and then repeat that, without ever getting to the point where it feels unbearable,” says Seedman. If it’s too painful to even think about stretching, skip it—it’s really just about getting some temporary relief if you can.

4. Make sure you’re getting enough protein.

Protein is a critical nutrient for building and maintaining muscle, so it plays a huge role in helping your muscles recover from a tough workout.

While you should be eating enough protein all the time to prevent recurring or long-lasting soreness from your workouts, says Seedman, it can still be helpful to double-check that you’re eating enough protein after the damage is done. “You can almost make the argument that that’s going to be as vital as light exercise [to recover],” he says.

This doesn’t mean excessively high amounts of protein, necessarily. While needs vary, people who work out should aim for about 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. For an active person who’s 150 pounds, that’s about 95 to 136 grams per day, split up between all your meals.

5. Try heat or ice to ease the pain.

The debate between heat therapy and cold therapy is ongoing, but when it comes down to it, it’s really just about what feels good to you—for the most part, the effects are temporary. But when you’re super sore, any fleeting relief (as long as it’s safe) is worth it.

Ice can help reduce the swelling that sometimes comes along with extreme soreness, says Seedman. Bringing the swelling down can help reduce some pain-causing tension. Elevating your legs (if that’s where you’re sore) can also help with this.

However, heat can also minimize tension and pain signals, says Seedman. So if relaxing in a warm bath makes you feel better, do that. McCall also notes that this may help with circulation.

What can you do to prevent muscle soreness after a workout?

While the tips above can help you improve soreness that you’re already experiencing, there are also some things you can do to prevent DOMS from happening in the first place—or at least limit it.

Take it slow to prevent DOMS.

Since too-much-too-soon is a big trigger of DOMS, it makes sense that easing into a new kind of training (or into any training, if you’re just starting out) can help make muscle soreness after a workout less likely.

Progress slowly with new workout types, says Miranda. So if you normally do equally timed contractions for strength training—spending about the same time on lifting and lowering—but want to start incorporate eccentric training, you might want to start gradually adding it into your routine. If you normally do four sets of regular biceps curls, maybe you do one or two sets the first time you try eccentric biceps curls, for instance.

If you want to try a new type of training, like with a virtual class, choose a shorter class aimed for beginners, which will introduce you to the moves rather than throw you right in.

Foam-roll after your workout.

Foam rolling after your workout may also help reduce the intensity of DOMS. A review of 14 studies published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy concluded that self-myofascial release, as performed by a foam roller or a roller massager, after an intense exercise session helped decrease perceptions of muscle soreness in the following days.

“This improves blood flow and the oxygenation to the area, which they believe helps in the perceived reduction of DOMS,” says Miranda. (Percussive therapy devices like the Theragun Elite may also help you feel better too, as SELF recently reported.)

Overall, time should heal your soreness—as long as it’s not something more serious.

While you’re recovering, it’s also important to watch for signs of something more serious. A syndrome called rhabdomyolysis occurs when overworked muscle fibers die and release the protein myoglobin into the bloodstream, which can lead to kidney damage and even failure. This is a medical emergency, and along with extreme muscle pain, weakness, and swelling, the main sign is often cola-colored urine. If you notice these signs, get to a doctor ASAP.

If you experience sharp pain during your workout, or if the soreness doesn’t start improving after a couple of days, that can be a sign that you’re actually injured and need to see a health care professional.

Related:

10 Ways to Get Rid of Sore Muscles

We all secretly love sore muscles. It’s proof you put in serious work at the gym, and your body is feeling it. But some muscle soreness isn’t simply due to lactic acid buildup — it’s a sign you straight-up sent your muscles into shock.

“The significant muscle soreness that typically occurs hours after activity, usually 24 to 48 hours after activity, is referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness. or DOMS,” Christopher Hogrefe, MD, FACEP, sports medicine and emergency medicine specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, told MensHealth.com. “This condition has little, if anything, to do with lactic acidosis. Instead, it appears to be the result of small tears in muscle fiber that combine with an inflammatory process to result in pain.”

Ouch.

You’ll notice this type of soreness after more challenging or unfamiliar exercise. “Activities that involve muscle and tendon lengthening while a person simultaneously tries to contract the muscle, Squats and running downhill, are examples of such exercises,” says Hogrefe.

So what are the symptoms of DOMS? “Muscle soreness, lack of strength, decrease in the speed of muscle contractibility, and muscle stiffness are all symptoms of DOMS,” says says Katie Lawton, an exercise physiologist in Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. “DOMS can decrease the speed of muscle contractibility by 5-8% and change joint mobility. “

If your body needs a little more help with recovery, try one of these tips to get rid of sore muscles.

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1

Eat more mushrooms.

“Numerous sources have identified mushrooms as possessing anti-inflammatory properties that may be effective in reducing some muscle soreness,” says Hogrefe. Mushrooms’ anti-inflammatory compounds called polysaccharides work to reduce the inflammation-causing cytokine compounds.

2

Do an active cooldown.

Spending some time cooling down makes your muscles recovery-ready. A 2018 study on active recovery found that runners who spent time at a 50% decrease in activity at the end of their workout (instead of resting completely) were able to go three times longer the second time they ran. The researchers believe it had to do with better blood flow, which reduced blood lactate (the metabolic byproduct that makes your muscles sore).

Plus, a 2012 study found that those who did 20-minutes of low- or moderate-intensity cycling immediately following their strength workout reported reduced muscle pain.

3

Drink some tart cherry juice.

Tart cherry juice is loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. A 2010 study found that long distance runners who drank tart cherry juice for 8 days reported decreased muscle pain.

“Much like mushrooms, the anti-inflammatory properties in cherries may be beneficial in decreasing muscle soreness. However, particularly in the case of tart cherry extract, one should be aware of the significant sugar content that could be present,” says Hogrefe.

4

Get a massage.

It may seem obvious, but massages really do help get rid of sore muscles. A 2012 study found that a post-exercise massage significantly reduces pain by reducing the release of cytokines, compounds that cause inflammation in the body. At the same time, massage stimulated mitochondria in cells, promoting cell function and repair.

5

Use a heating pad and an ice pack.

“The idea behind heating pads is that they increase blood flow because it is a vasodilator (opens up your blood vessels), and is thought that it could help flush some of the byproducts or inflammation related to muscle soreness, out of the muscles,” says Lawton.

Adding an ice pack to the mix may be the perfect combination.
“Alternating cold and heat may be most beneficial following exercise-induced muscle soreness,” says Hogrefe.

A 2015 study found that using both heat and ice prevented elastic tissue damage. “Going from icing to heating reduces muscle pain after exercising. Applying ice for twenty minutes followed by heat for twenty minutes may be an effective regimen to help address muscle soreness following activity,” says Hogrefe.

6

Use a foam roller.

Foam rolling on sore muscles can make grown men cry, but it seriously helps repair your muscles. “It has been suggested that foam rolling may decrease edema (or swelling in the muscles) and enhance tissue healing,” says Hogrefe.

A 2015 study found that 20 minutes of foam rolling on a high-density foam roller immediately following exercise and 24 hours after may reduce muscle tenderness and decrease the impact on one’s dynamic movements. Don’t have one? Check out our best foam roller picks.

7

Take an ice bath.

A 2010 study found that ice baths reduce swelling and tissue breakdown that causes DOMS by constricting blood vessels. Participants sat in the ice bath for 5 to 10 minutes. And in another study from 2014, participants who took ice baths for 10 minutes after exercise reported the lowest levels of pain and muscle soreness when asked to stretch.

“Overall, some have suggested that ice baths can reduce muscle soreness by 20%,” says Hogrefe.

8

Wear compression gear.

It’s not just to show off all the work you’ve put in. A 2014 study found that compression gear reduced muscle soreness and made muscle recovery faster due to constricting your muscles and preventing fluid buildup post-workout while increasing blood flow. This helped remove an enzyme in your muscles called creatine kinase, which can cause ache.

9

Sleep.

It sounds simple, but hitting the sack can often be exactly what your sore muscles need. The direct scientific link between sleep and post-exercise recovery remains somewhat fuzzy, although it could be strongly argued that that’s because sleep involves a multitude of physiological functions that aren’t always easy to clearly define and separate. We do know, however, that a lack of sleep can contribute to higher levels of inflammation. Inflammation may not be a factor in DOMs in particular, but it does contribute to some muscle soreness — and getting serious rest can help alleviate that.

10

Eat antioxidants and protein frequently in the next 24 hours

Your post-lift protein shake does more than just refuel your muscles. A 2017 study found that protein aided in the recovery of muscle function in the 24 hours following a workout filled with eccentric contractions (which generally happen in most strength-based workouts). And adding antioxidants to that meal improved the recovery from those workouts even more. So aim to load up on protein (think chicken or fish) and antioxidant-rich foods (think pomegranates and kale) in the hours after a tough workout, and watch your recovery times drop.

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Good and Bad Pain for Athletes

By: Edward G. McFarland, M.D. and Andrew Cosgarea, M.D.

What is the difference between good pain and bad pain?

It is well known among athletes that some discomfort is part of athletic activities and is often part of a successful training program. For muscle strength to increase, the muscle must see some increase in stress over what it is used to experiencing, and this stress is usually perceived as the “burn” in muscle during activity. This mild burn is what we call good pain and is the basis of the popular phrase, “No pain, no gain.” This pain should be short-lived and resolve soon after the activity ends.

Fatigue after a good, strenuous workout is also a sign that the exercise is pushing the limits of the athlete’s physiology, but it too should not be excessive. This fatigue should leave the individual somewhat exhilarated but not overly exhausted. Fatigue that lasts days means the individual’s physiology has been excessively challenged, and this means that the muscles and the energy stores are not being effectively replenished. Chronic fatigue after excessive exercise suggests that the individual may be overtraining. If after appropriate rest the fatigue continues, it may be a sign of other medical problems and you should consult a doctor.

What are the signs of bad pain?

The muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones of the body are living structures that react to the stress of exercise only gradually. If they see stress too fast, they cannot respond effectively and may begin to fail. The causes of the failure can be too much stress too fast, or it can be the accumulation of excessive stress over time. When this occurs, each one of these tissues responds a little differently. This can result in bad pain.

For example, when muscles that have not been exercised for long periods of time see a lot of stress, they respond by getting sore. Muscle soreness typically occurs if you do a new exercise to which you are not accustomed or if you do a familiar exercise too hard. This soreness typically begins within a few hours but peaks one to two days after exercise. This soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness and may represent actual muscle damage. A little soreness or discomfort means that the muscle has been stressed, but if the muscle is exercised too much, the muscle can become very sore to move and touch and may even swell. In severe cases, the muscle may be damaged to the point that the muscle starts to develop permanent damage. In extreme cases, individuals who are not adequately conditioned who exercise excessively can develop a condition where the muscle is permanently damaged and proteins are released into the blood stream, which can shut down the kidneys. While it is rare, there have been cases of death due to this extreme overexercising of the muscles, so it is generally recommended that if you start an exercise program, you begin very slowly and build up gradually. To prevent this problem with your muscles, we usually recommend the following rule: Take the amount of exercise you think you can do and cut it by one third the first few times you do it.

In a similar fashion, the tendons that connect muscle to bones may get irritated if they see too much stress too rapidly. They respond by getting inflamed, which is characterized by pain and sometimes swelling. Tendinitis pain typically occurs during exercise and can continue afterward when performing activities using that muscle or tendon. For example, tendinitis of the kneecap tendon (patellar tendon) is frequently seen in athletes who do jumping or squatting activities. The pain is made worse with these activities, but the pain may continue after sports activity when climbing stairs or getting out of a chair. In more severe cases the tendon may become swollen and any movement of the tendon or knee joint can hurt.

The bones likewise need time to respond to new stress. When bones see increased amount of stress, such as an increase in running when preparing for a marathon, they respond by putting more bone in the areas of the bone that are seeing more stress. This response is called remodeling and strengthens the bone. However, if the area of bone sees stress too fast, the bone will actually begin to fail. The first sign of this stress reaction is pain along the bone, which occurs with activity. As the situation worsens, a stress fracture can develop. This may result in a limp and even pain at night. If untreated the bone can actually break, which can be a severe injury.

Cartilage also needs stress applied very gradually. Cartilage is the slippery white tissue on the ends of the bones in the joint that allows the bones to glide and move smoothly over one another. As a person matures, it is common for the cartilage to see some wear and tear so that it is not perfectly smooth. When the cartilage sees too much stress too rapidly, it can result in pain and fluid in the joint. Swelling in a joint is a worrisome sign meaning that the cartilage is irritated. If the joint is not rested, the pain and swelling can increase and result in functional problems.

How can this pain be treated?

The treatment for any ache or pain after exercise is to cut back on the exercise for a period of time. How long to rest the area depends upon the severity of the pain. Typically we tell patients not to do anything that hurts. For casual athletes this is easier to do than for highly competitive athletes. It is important to maintain aerobic capacity or stamina when resting a body part, so other exercises that do not cause pain are usually acceptable. For example, if your knee hurts, it is usually reasonable to continue exercising your upper extremities or even to do lower extremity exercises like swimming or aqua jogging that do not aggravate the problem.

The second way to treat a painful area is by icing. Ice should be used after activity with an ice pack or ice massage for 20 minutes. This also can be done daily after exercising for several weeks. The old standard of ice for 48 hours followed by heat is no longer recommended. We believe that ice is your friend. However, if pain persists despite the use of ice, more serious problems may exist and you should consult your physician.

The third thing to do if you have aches and pains after exercise is to continue to move the joint or extremity to avoid stiffness. If the joint becomes stiff over time it will affect the ability of the joint to function normally and may affect athletic performance as well. Range of motion exercises or stretching to maintain the motion of the joint should not be confused with exercising the joint, which tends to stress the structures and make the pain worse.

The fourth way to treat aches and pains is with over-the-counter pain relievers or anti-inflammatory agents. These medicines include acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin and are believed to be effective at decreasing pain and swelling. If you do not have any contraindications to taking these medications, we suggest following the instructions on the label.  If you have any questions, speak with your trainer, pharmacist or physician. If these medicines do not substantially improve the pain over a few days then you should consider consulting a health care professional.

In summary, if you develop pain after exercise, you should rest or decrease the activity that is causing the problem, ice the painful area, keep moving the extremity but not stress it and consider over-the-counter medicines to treat the pain and inflammation.

When should I be concerned about bad pain?

There are several things you should look for when judging how concerned to be about your pain. First, the pain should not last long after exercise. Pain that begins to affect your sports performance is not normal, and this may be more of a problem early in an injury for a high-caliber, competitive athlete than for the casual athlete who can more easily rest the injured part. Pain that does not go away with rest is not normal. Pain that begins to affect your function outside of sports, such as walking or sleeping, is not normal. Pain that is constant or increasing over time and does not go away is not normal. Pain that does not improve with treatment may be something to be concerned about. Pain that requires increasing amounts of pain medication over time is not normal, and you should consider seeing a physician. Pain that begins to wake you from your sleep is also a concern, especially if it increases over time.

Another sign that may indicate a more serious problem is the development of weakness. The development of tingling or numbness, which is the feeling you get when your hand goes to sleep or when you hit your funny bone, is also not normal and may indicate nerve problems. If you notice that you are gradually losing motion of the extremity you should also seek treatment.

Fevers, chills or severe sweating at night are not normal and you should consider seeking evaluation right away.

What about the pain that occurs with an injury?

It is often difficult to know if an injury due to an accident or trauma is serious or not. Signs that the injury is more serious include severe pain that makes the individual nauseated or very uncomfortable, deformity at the site of injury, immediate and marked swelling at the location of the injury, loss of function of the part that is injured, tingling or numbness of the extremity and inability to move the fingers or toes of the involved extremity.

We tell athletes that pain always occurs for a reason. More severe injuries have more swelling and pain. Injured areas that turn black and blue over time indicate that blood vessels have been broken and that there is the possibility of an injury to the bones, ligaments, tendons or cartilage. In most cases where a joint becomes swollen, painful and incapable of movement after an injury, it is not possible to tell if there is a fracture without an X-ray.

If you have any question about whether an injury is serious or not, you should seek treatment. Sometimes this is done sooner rather than later in athletic individuals who have a more pressing need to know the severity of the injury, thereby allowing quicker return to sport.

10 ways to ease your DOMS

If you love to move your body in new and challenging ways, then you’ll be pretty familiar with DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. 

The ache and soreness of your muscles post-workout can be a literal pain in the behind, but we’ve got some quick hacks and ways to ease your DOMS if you’re feeling particularly uncomfortable.

DOMS can strike between 24 – 72 hours following a workout or exercise class that works new muscle groups in the body, or at a higher exertion than usual. If you’re not familiar with what exactly DOMS is and want to check out why it’s happening to you, then shoot over to our DOMS exploration.

Although we can’t rid you of them completely, we’ve got some ways to ease your DOMS; from taking precautions prior to a workout to soothing worked muscles, let’s see how we can make your day a little less ouch.

10 ways to ease your DOMS

What you can do to ease your DOMS prior to your workout

Hitting a challenging HIIT workout? Returning to exercise after a break? New to exercise or a certain workout class? There are some precautions you can take before your workout if you have a feeling that you may suffer from sore muscles afterwards.

1. Take time to do proper warm-ups and cool downs

Prepare your body before your workouts to help increase blood flow to your muscles and loosen them – this will reduce risk of injury and should help reduce muscle soreness. If you’re impatient to get stuck into your session, it may seem like an annoyance, but light cardio (i.e. a brisk 5- 10 minute walk) followed by light stretching can assist in preparing your muscles without causing fatigue.

A cool down is equally as important – don’t rush out of your class! Reducing your heart rate and breathing gradually cools your body temperature. It will give your muscles time to return to their normal length and increase blood flow to the exercised muscles which can help avoid soreness. Stretching is highly recommended post-workout as well.

2. Wear compression workout clothing

As you workout vigorously, muscle groups can become inflamed which can lead to swelling and then pain. By wearing some pretty nifty compression clothing during your training, your muscles will be constricted, reducing the fluid buildup which will help combat the swelling of your muscles.

Studies have even found that marathon runners who continued to wear their compression tights for 24 hours after the race, reported feeling less sore!

3. Know your limits

If you’re new to exercise or new to a particularly intense workout, know your limits and don’t push yourself beyond your capabilities. Sure, the harder you work, the closer you will get to your fitness goals, but you should build yourself up to the level you’re aiming for.

Don’t just smash it as hard as you can in your hurry to get to your goals faster. Fitness is a gradual process –  you don’t want to cause extreme discomfort after your first session. Nothing’s worse than being severely demoralised from acute post-workout aches.

4. Keep moving on your rest days

If you’re trying to keep to a tight workout schedule, DOMS can scupper your plans. Your strength won’t be at its maximum and you may find you can’t keep up in your usual sessions due to screaming muscles. As DOMS hit 24 – 72 hours post-workout, try to time your rest days to coincide. But don’t take that to mean a lie down on the sofa!

Keep moving on your rest days and participate in light activity for active recovery. Swimming, stretching, yoga, brisk walks – keep the body moving. Keep that nutrient rich blood pumping to the muscles in need.

Top ways to ease your DOMS after your workout:

So you’ve done all you can to avoid DOMS after your workout, but you’re still suffering from soreness after your training? Try these post-workout soothers and see which one works the best for you.

1. Get familiar with a foam roller

Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release (not as catchy), is widely used in fitness. From top athletes to regular gym-goers, this simple yet nifty bit of kit can provide top recovery.

Applying pressure to specific points in the body using your own bodyweight on top of the roller can help release muscle tightness or trigger points (commonly known as ‘knots’). This self-massage technique will loosen the muscles and help return them to normal function. It isn’t a relaxing massage – you will experience some discomfort – but it will increase blood flow to your muscles and create better mobility – all of which can aid recovery.

See some of the best foam rollers on the market and how to use them.

2. Pain relief creams, balms and patches

If you feel incredibly uncomfortable with your DOMS, avoid taking painkillers – don’t dull your pain receptors so you can power through another workout or you’ll risk injury. An alternative is to use creams, balms and even patches.

Try the zinging sensation of Tiger Balm or drugstore creams such as Deep Heat. When in discomfort, apply liberally (don’t get it in any, erm, sensitive areas though) and let the potions sink into your muscles. Why not even try a Deep Heat patch for any particularly problematic areas!

3. Sink into an Epsom Salt Bath 

A bath really does solve a multitude of issues – after a hard day, sinking into a bubble bath can provide much needed aid to stress… but why not switch the bubbles for Epsom Salts after a particularly hard workout?

Epsom Salt has been used for 100’s of years to ease aches and pains. When dissolved in warm water, it breaks down into magnesium (which we all know is key to muscle recovery and reduction of inflammation) and sulphate. The magnesium helps with muscle regeneration and flushes out lactic acid buildup in the muscles – remember, lactic acid is not the cause of DOMS. It’s to do with micro-tears within the muscles.

Soak yourself for 15 minutes to let your skin absorb as much as it can – but no longer! You don’t want to start reabsorbing the toxins eliminated by the Epsom salt.

4. Put yourself in hot water

As mentioned above, baths are the way to help you unwind and destress, both mentally and physically. A steaming hot bath post-workout can help your DOMS as it will dilate blood vessels that promote blood flow and help muscles relax.

Hot baths can improve your circulation, however you’ll need to be in hot water for a decent amount of time in order for the deep tissue to benefit… but who’s going to complain about having to take an hour-long hot bath?

5. An intense ice bath (if you dare)

Alternatively, you can turn the temperature waaaay down and plunge into an icy cold bath. The cooler temperatures reduce inflammation and swelling by reducing the blood flow to the muscles in pain. But it is controversial on whether it actually can diminish the feeling of DOMS. Studies have shown that ice cold baths are better than nothing (i.e. lying on the sofa) but could potentially be a placebo effect…

Use cold water from the tap with some trays of ice cubes, and submerge yourself within 20 minutes of the exercise. But be aware of the shock cold water can have on the body – it’s not for everyone!

You could also try Contrast Water Therapy (CWT) to treat the pain – submerge yourself in cold water to contract the blood vessels, move to warmer waters and the veins will expand to overcompensate, bringing a rush of blood filled with nutrients to help injured tissues recover.

6. Eat right!

Healthy eating and fitness go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other and expect to hit your fitness goals, so be sure to fill your belly with the right nutrients that will give you energy, strength and the healing powers to reduce any DOMS!

• Whey protein rich foods: cottage cheese, quinoa, beef, yoghurt
• Anti-inflammatory foods: Manuka honey, nuts (almonds and walnuts are fab), seeds, green leafy vegetables, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, olive oil.
• Antioxidant foods: Turmeric, green tea, pecans, kidney beans, Goji berries
• Magnesium rich foods: dark green leafy veggies, such as Spinach, whole grains (brown rice and whole wheat bread), beans and nuts, avocados.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines

DOMS is a way of life, but there are some ways to reduce the intensity. Follow our above tips and tricks and see if you notice a difference next time you hit a workout hard!

And remember, don’t push yourself to a level that will put you at risk of injury. Take care of yourself – fitness is a journey and there’s no need to rush it faster than is possible!

How Sore is Too Sore? Post-Workout Soreness & Rhabdomyolysis

Jumping right into an intense workout routine too suddenly can cause muscle soreness and even rhabdomyolysis.

With the new year here, many of us will be flocking to the gym or queuing up exercise videos to get a jump on our resolutions. And with our new workout routines may come muscle soreness. But how sore is too sore and indicates something else? I met up with David Hryvniak, MD, to find out.

What Causes Muscle Soreness?

Mild soreness after a workout is generally not a bad thing. It’s just a sign that the muscle has been taxed. The stress on the muscle causes microscopic breakdown of muscle fibers, which in turn causes discomfort. The muscle breakdown serves a purpose: when those fibers rebuild, the muscle is stronger.

Some types of exercise cause more soreness than others. For example, “eccentric” activity (when the force is put on the muscle as it lengthens, such as when running downhill or lowering the weight in a hamstring curl) causes more soreness, because it puts more strain on the muscle.

DOMS

Have you ever been sorer the second or third day after a workout than you were the first day after? This is called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. The soreness is delayed because it takes a while for some metabolic & physiological processes (the results of those microscopic muscle tears) to manifest as muscle pain.

• DOMS pain is at its worst 48-72 hours after a hard workout.
• There isn’t much you can do to treat DOMS. It should improve on its own after about 72 hours.
• The best way to prevent DOMS is to be sure you’re building up your activity gradually.

Massage and foam rolling may help with DOMS. “I generally tell people foam rolling ‘hurts so good.’ It’s painful, but it gets those waste products like lactic acid moving and out of your muscles and soft tissue,” Hryvniak says. Just be sure not to roll directly over bones or joints if you try foam rolling. Stick to soft tissue like your glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

Is It Rhabdomyolysis? When to Contact a Doctor for Muscle Soreness

If you haven’t urinated in a long time or have dark colored urine, or if the soreness just isn’t improving after 48-72 hours, it’s a good idea to seek medical attention. These can be symptoms of rhabdomyolysis or “rhabdo.”

Muscle tissue releases an enzyme called creatine kinase (CK) when it breaks down. That’s normal, and a certain amount of CK in your system is fine. But a high amount of it can cause rhabdo, which affects the kidneys and can even cause kidney failure.

Unlike DOMS, rhabdomyolysis is a serious condition that requires medical attention. It usually happens when someone jumps right into heavy activity without building up to it.

If you’re starting a new workout routine and doing it gradually, the risk of rhabdomyolysis is extremely low. It typically only occurs after extreme exercise, but some other things can increase your chances of it:

• Being dehydrated
• Exercising while you’re on medications like ibuprofen or Aleve
• Exercising in the heat

Hryvniak says the best way to know if you might have rhabdo is to look at your urine quality. “In someone with rhabdomyolysis, the urine is tea colored. Some of that is the breakdown materials (CK) and some of it is dehydration. In someone with rhabdo, the muscle soreness will seem way out of proportion to the level of effort and won’t seem to be improving.”

Rhabdo is a dangerous condition, so if you suspect you have it, you’ll want to see a physician or visit the emergency room that day for evaluation.

You’ll also want to see a doctor if pain is keeping you from getting back to the same activities once your soreness has gone away. That may indicate an injury.

Exercising When You’re Already Sore

According to Hryvniak, whether or not you should work out when you’re sore just depends on how sore you are. “My rule is that working out with a little bit of stiffness or soreness is okay. If it’s a 1, 2 or 3 out of 10, that’s okay. If it’s getting above that, or the pain is getting worse during activity, or if you’re limping or changing your gait, back off the intensity of the workout.”

Dealing with an injury?

The UVA Runner’s Clinic is the only clinic in the area with a program specifically for runners. The physicians are all experienced runners and board certified sports medicine physicians. They treat all physically active people with a special focus on the endurance athlete.

Make an appointment with the UVA Runner’s Clinic by calling 434.243.5600.

How to Avoid Soreness

Hryvniak says the jury is still out when it comes to scientifically proven ways to prevent muscle soreness. He advises the following:

• Warm up prior to intense activity.
• Stretch well before and after your workout.
• Keep moving! Gentle walking and stretching after a workout will help keep those waste products from settling into your muscles and help prevent DOMS.
• Be gradual! If you slowly increase the load on your muscles, soreness will be less of an issue.

Avoiding Soreness: Advice for Starting a New Workout Routine

Most of Hryvniak’s patients end up in his office because of doing too much too soon. Maybe they’re increasing their running distance, adding in hills too quickly or jumping into a workout they’re not ready for. He sees things like stress fractures, Achilles tendinitis, runner’s knee, plantar fasciitis and hamstring injuries.

The risk of soreness shouldn’t deter people from beginning a workout program. Hyrvniak encourages an active lifestyle. “All the research backs up the benefits of activity. Whether it be running, walking, playing pickup basketball or golfing. All of those activities are going to be good for your cardiac health, your joint health and your overall health. But I also encourage people to be slow with their progress and increase gradually. Don’t make sudden changes to the surfaces you train on, the volume or intensity of your workouts, or even to your workout equipment. It’s sudden transitions like those that tend to cause injuries.”

How to Relieve Sore Muscles and Prevent DOMS

What is DOMS?

Delayed onset muscle soreness is that pain and tightness in your muscles that you feel 24-48 hours after a more intense workout than usual. It occurs when your muscles aren’t used to the volume of training stressing the muscle tissue, causing the fibres to form microscopic tears. This stress on the muscle is caused by activity where the muscle is contracting and lengthening, leading to muscle strain or DOMS with an inflammatory response.

Luckily, delayed onset muscle soreness is only temporary, often only lasting a few days. During that time, it can be uncomfortable and painful. There are a few things you can do if you’re experiencing symptoms, here we will go through how to relieve sore muscles and prevent delayed onset muscle soreness.

6 Tips on how to relieve sore muscles

Ice

Ice can be used to relieve sore muscles after a workout to relieve swelling and reduce inflammation by decreasing blood flow to the affected area. It’s best to apply cold therapy within 48 hours for 10 minute periods, alternating with heat packs or hot baths. Cold therapy is best known to athletes as RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation, helping to relieve pain and numb sore tissues, while reducing the risk of tissue damage and swelling.

Heat

Applying heat helps speed up the healing process of sore tissues by promoting blood flow and relaxing your muscles. Things like heat packs and warm baths or showers can help reduce the feeling of stiffness in your body when you’ve overexerted yourself in a workout. You can get through the next few days of delayed onset muscle soreness with a little help from your trusty heat pack and some relaxing and hot Epsom salt baths. Epsom salts or magnesium sulfate can help reduce inflammation and relax sore muscles.

Massage

Is there anything in the world that feels better than a massage? But it doesn’t just feel amazing, it helps relieve sore muscles by promoting blood flow and easing inflammation. Inflammation from delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by microscopic tears in muscle fibres and surrounding tissues from exercising in a new or harder session. Stimulating the area through massage can bring newly oxygenated blood to the area which helps get rid of the lactic acid that builds up in muscles. You can get a professional massage or use a foam roller to massage the sore areas yourself.

Protein

Another way how to relieve sore muscles is by consuming protein before and after training. Protein helps to strengthen the muscle fibres that have been torn during exercise, refuelling the muscles and reducing the impact of delayed onset muscle soreness. After a workout, you should consume protein-rich foods or drinks to prevent muscle soreness and help the repair, maintenance and growth of muscles. You should aim to have a protein shake or bar within 45 minutes of finishing your workout, we recommend our Cacao mint hemp protein powder, or if you’d prefer a delicious snack, try our protein balls recipe.

Stretch

Light stretching can relieve pain from delayed onset muscle soreness by releasing the tightness and increasing your range of motion. Your muscles contract during exercise causing the muscle fibres to get shorter. Stretching lengthens these muscles. While it won’t help to repair the tears, it can help ease the feeling of tightness and get you moving. So, you should aim to have a pre and post workout stretching routine as warm up and cool down sessions to help prevent and reduce the impact of delayed onset muscle soreness.

Hydrate

Delayed onset muscle soreness can have a higher impact on our bodies if we’re dehydrated as the delivery of nutrients to muscles becomes slower causing muscle soreness and cramps. It’s important to drink water before, during, and after exercise to aid muscle repair and growth. When you’re participating in a harder workout, your muscles need more oxygen and water to pump your blood, so you need to make sure you’re hydrated and replacing the fluid lost through sweat. Sweating can cause a lack in electrolytes which can impact the severity of delayed muscle soreness, so try to drink plenty of water and eat foods with adequate potassium and sodium, such as bananas, coconuts, and raisins. Why not try our protein banana bread recipe or our delicious vanilla coconut lime protein balls to give you the boost of potassium and protein you need to get the best results and help your muscles grow and recover.

If you intend to increase the intensity of your exercise program there are some other things you can do to prevent delayed onset muscle soreness before and during exercise.

• Build up the intensity, weight or duration of your sessions gradually. Increase your program in small amounts, session by session so that your muscles have time to get used to a greater difficulty.
• Add warm and cool down sessions before and after your training session. Make sure your muscles are warmed up and ready to go and have the time to relax and stretch out afterwards.
• Maintain form and technique to prevent injury or overusing the unintended muscle.
• Keep moving during your workout so that fresh blood is consistently sent to your muscles.

If you’d like a little more information about how to relieve sore muscles, contact us at Happy Way and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction and give you professional advice on the benefits of whey proteins and vegan protein powder to reduce muscle pain.

Proven Ways to Speed Up Your Muscle Recovery – SWEAT

If you’ve been training hard, you may have experienced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) — that crippling muscle ache in the days after a tough workout. While a fitness hangover can cramp your style, you don’t have to suffer if you’ve pushed yourself during your workouts.   

Use these tips to improve the speed and quality of your muscle recovery so that you can keep working towards your health and fitness goals!

How to speed up muscle recovery

The Sweat trainers often receive questions from the Community about muscle soreness following a workout. Here are some proven tips to help you get back to training sooner:  

Hydrate

Drinking water is essential for post-workout recovery, including muscle repair — but it’s not the only way you should rehydrate, according to the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University in the UK. In a 2004 study on rehydration and recovery after exercise, they found “…rehydration will only be achieved if a volume of fluid in excess of the sweat loss is ingested together with sufficient electrolytes.” 

Electrolytes include minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium, and are found in most foods. These minerals are important for your nervous system, and they also get used up during muscle contraction. 

You can get enough electrolytes for muscle recovery by implementing healthy eating habits and including plenty of fruits and vegetables.  

Having a glass of milk, coconut water or a fruit smoothie after your workout can help replace electrolytes in your blood and aid recovery. If you have a very low-sodium diet, you could also add salt to lemon water in the morning.

Grab a post-workout snack

After a workout, having a snack that contains both carbohydrates and protein can help improve muscle recovery time by providing the nutrients your muscle tissue needs to begin repairing. 

According to Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA), “…the urgency for carbohydrate and protein after exercise depends on how long you have until your next exercise session… [but] the body is most effective at replacing carbohydrates and promoting muscle repair and growth in the first ~60-90min after exercise.”

The options for quick, healthy snacks are endless — you can prepare a coffee smoothie ahead of time, or having some fruit with yoghurt can help to replenish your energy stores after a morning workout.

If you follow a plant-based diet, eating almonds, tofu, chickpeas and other high-protein foods can give your muscles the nutrients they need to repair. 

A high-protein snack in the evening can aid muscle repair overnight.

Use a workout supplement

Some trainers and athletes use branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs). A 2010 study in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that women who take BCAAs before a workout may have less post-workout soreness and shorter muscle recovery time. 

For those who already follow a healthy diet, using supplements may not have a noticeable impact. This is because BCAAs are found in whole foods like eggs, tuna, yoghurt and milk — so what you eat before your workout can have an impact on your muscle recovery too!

Warm up before resistance training

According to Mayo Clinic in the USA, taking the time to complete an effective warm-up may “…help to reduce muscle soreness and lessen your risk of injury.” A proper warm-up is especially important before aerobic exercise and slow eccentric movements like deadlifts, pull-ups or single-arm rows where the muscle lengthens and contracts simultaneously. 

You should include dynamic stretching before your workout to activate the muscles you are about to use — these exercises will gently lengthen and activate the muscles, helping to prevent overstretching, strain or injury during your workout.

Make time to cool down

Alongside a warm-up, Mayo Clinic recommends “…cooling down after your workout [to] allow for gradual recovery of preexercisse heart rate and blood pressure”. Taking 5-10 minutes to jog slowly or walk on the treadmill can help your body to cool down, especially if you’ve just completed a tough workout or a HIIT session. 

Once your heart rate has slowed, static stretching — where you hold a stretch position — can help to improve your range of motion. Doing a short stretching session before bed may also help you to sleep better.

Foam roll and stretch

A 2019 Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery and published in Frontiers of Physiology found that foam rolling before a workout can help to increase performance. You should also use dynamic stretches as part of your warm-up to prepare the muscles you are going to use in your workout. 

For example, doing stretches and activations for your glutes before and after a leg workout can help to improve flexibility and maximise your training. 

Taking the time on rest days to stretch tight hips can help reduce any discomfort, improve flexibility and support muscle recovery.

Elevate your legs

It’s typical to spend most of your time with your legs down, whether it’s sitting, standing, walking or running. 

According to the University of Michigan Health in the USA, “when you elevate your legs, ideally at or above heart level, it helps keep the blood from pooling in your lower legs and improves blood flow to the rest of your body,” reducing swelling in the muscles. These calming yoga poses may also help to improve circulation.

Take a cool bath

When you work out you may cause microdamage to your muscles, which can result in swelling, inflammation and soreness. This process is normal, as the muscles are adapting to the workload and becoming stronger. 

If you are still sore one or two days after your workout, taking a cool bath can help reduce inflammation and support muscle recovery. 

Some athletes also believe that cryotherapy — a treatment that involves exposing the body to cold or near-freezing temperatures — may help to soothe muscle soreness. In a 2017 review of literature investigating the effect of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) on recovery after exercise, researchers in Sydney, Australia found that “WBC may improve recovery from muscle damage, with multiple exposures more consistently exhibiting improvements in recovery from pain, loss of muscle function, and markers of inflammation and damage.” 

Before trying any new treatment for muscle pain, for soreness that lasts more than five days, or if you have a very high level of pain, you should always seek advice from a health professional.

Don’t skip rest days

There are times when you just need to rest. Getting an early night and a good sleep can help to speed up the muscle repair process and leave you feeling refreshed the next day. 

With any demanding physical activity, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) recommends “making sure to schedule at least one day of complete rest… every seven to 10 days” to allow your body to recover and adapt to the work done on the previous training days. 

Keep moving

Light movement on your rest days can help to keep the blood circulating throughout your body, bringing nutrients to repair the muscles and assisting with the removal of metabolic waste products. A 2018 review of literature published in Frontiers in Physiology found that active recovery done within the first few days of a tough workout reduced the effects of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). 

You might take the stairs rather than the elevator or make time for 10 minutes of walking during the day. 

Wear compression tights

A 2016 review of literature on whether compression garments are effective for the recovery of exercise-induced muscle damage that was published in a journal on Physiology & Behaviour found that wearing compression garments may aid in the recovery of exercise-induced muscle damage. 

Compression clothing may also help to reduce your perception of muscle soreness and reduce the inflammation and swelling that cause soreness. 

The tightness of the fabric can help to promote blood flow through the deeper blood vessels rather than those on the surface, which may aid with clearing waste and providing nutrients to the muscle fibres.

Reduce stress

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that your emotional and mental wellbeing can affect your muscle recovery. 

When you are under stress, the body is focused on the stress response and doesn’t have the capacity to prioritise muscle recovery. 

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at whether chronic mental stress moderates recovery of muscular function and somatic sensations: perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness after a bout of strenuous resistance exercise, over a four-day period. The results showed that “higher levels of stress resulted in lower recovery curves and, conversely, lower levels of stress were associated with superior levels of recovery.”.

Stress can also affect your sleep, eating patterns and general wellbeing. All of these things can impact your immune response, which is essential for muscle recovery. 

You can take time to reduce stress in your life by using techniques like mindfulness and meditation. 

Follow the principle of progressive overload

Your training program shouldn’t leave you feeling sore for days on end after each workout. Ideally, any resistance training program will gradually increase the intensity of each workout, within your limits. 

By applying the principle of progressive overload, you will continually challenge your body without pushing it beyond its current threshold.

To ensure you continue to progress and improve, the Better Health Channel in Victoria, Australia advises “regular adjustments to the training variables, such as frequency, duration, exercises for each muscle group, number of exercises for each muscle group, sets and repetitions,” as well as ensuring you rest the muscle groups you train for at least 48 hours before training the same area again. 

Listen to your body

Sometimes after a workout, one side of your body might feel tighter than the other. These imbalances can occur as a result of your lifestyle and habits. For example, if you are right or left-handed, one side will usually be stronger than the other. The weaker side may get tighter when you work out.

Take a moment after your workout to breathe and focus on how your body feels — then you can tailor your cool down to what your body needs that day. You might spend a little extra time stretching one area that’s tight and pay some attention to how it feels during your next workout.

Listening to your body also means knowing when to rest or back off from your workouts. Based on their findings, Sports Performance Bulletin says “…while technology to monitor performance and fatigue can be very useful, you shouldn’t neglect the basics of self-monitoring — not just how fatigued you feel, but also your enthusiasm for training.”

You should monitor for symptoms of overtraining if you are feeling extremely sore after a workout, have poor sleep, fatigue and a lowered immune system.

Use these muscle recovery ideas to bounce back after your next workout

Being sore isn’t necessarily a sign of a good workout, however, when you first start a new workout program, muscle soreness is very common. 

If you make some of these changes to your routine and you still find you get sore more than most people, you should consider speaking with a healthcare professional.

Feeling rested, recovered and ready to get back into it? Check out our trainers’ top workout tips.

90,000 Why do muscles hurt after training

Physical activity is beneficial for the body – this is a proven fact that does not cause doubts. Regular sports activities improve well-being, quality of life, accelerate metabolism, help maintain flexibility and mobility of the body, promote muscle growth and increase endurance.

But all these positives are overshadowed a little by one unpleasant side effect of sports training: muscle pain of varying intensity.Pain syndrome most often occurs in beginners after the first classes, but even if you are an experienced athlete, muscle pain is likely to accompany you during periods of high-intensity exertion or when doing resistance exercises.

Many people, having felt pain after sports activities, succumb to a common misconception and consider it a sign of a well-performed workout and a manifestation of an increase in muscle mass: “if it hurts, it means growing.” In fact, severe pain in the muscles and the inability to move normally the next day, as a rule, are the result of ordinary non-compliance with the technique of performing the exercises.Let’s take a closer look at what happens in the muscles during training and why pain occurs.

Causes of muscle pain after exercise

There are two types of muscle pain that occurs at the initial stage of sports activities, which are considered natural and therefore safe.

One occurs right during training, at the moment when you perform the last, most difficult repetitions of the exercises.Why is this happening?

During training, ATP (adenosine triphosphoric acid), which is the most important source of energy, begins to decompose in muscle tissue and blood. Because of this, there is an accumulation of hydrogen ions in the blood and muscles, and the Ph of the blood begins to shift towards oxidation. It is because of the “acidification” of the blood that a burning sensation occurs. It passes rather quickly: blood and increased ventilation of air in the lungs help the body to cope with the accumulated hydrogen ions.But all subsequent painful sensations are associated with microdamages in the muscle tissue.

The second is the so-called DOMS, or delayed muscle pain.

It occurs 6-8 hours after exercise and reaches a maximum after about 2-3 days. As a rule, its appearance is the result of unusual or excessively increased physical activity. You, most likely, have experienced dizziness more than once: not only at the very beginning of fitness classes, but also when mastering new sets of exercises or with an increase in their duration and intensity.This type of pain is caused by microscopic damage or even tearing of muscle fibers.

A large number of micro-muscle injuries inhibit the growth of muscle tissue. This is because amino acids are needed for muscle growth, which are also needed for the healing of damaged muscles. Severe damage to muscle tissue steals amino acids for healing, thereby preventing muscle fibers from growing.

Traumatic causes of muscle pain

The exact opposite of natural pain is intense pain resulting from trauma.Such pain is aching in nature, intensifies even from minor loads and becomes unbearable with sudden movement.

The pain syndrome manifests itself immediately, during training, sometimes the next day.

If you have redness and swelling of tissues, bruising, general malaise, this clearly indicates a serious injury to the muscles and ligaments. In this case, do not postpone the visit to the doctor!

The biggest cause of injury in the gym is negligence.To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is enough to follow a few simple rules. Not worth it:

• start hard exercise right away, skip warm-up
• Continue exercising on simulators, experiencing any inconvenience
• Take on unbearable weight in strength training
• during training ignore the appearance of crunching or clicking in the joints

And do not forget to listen to the advice of the trainer: under the guidance of our trainers, you can not only get the desired effect, but also learn to take care of the safety of your workouts.

How to get rid of pain after training

We have analyzed the causes of pain, now let’s talk about how to get rid of it. Safe types of pain can be relieved directly during exercise by repeating the exercise that caused it, but with less stress. These actions will remove muscle stiffness and provide an increased blood flow, which carries oxygen to the tissues and nutrients necessary for regeneration.

Discomfort in the muscles of the legs and lower body can be relieved with cardio exercises, and pain in the muscles of the upper body can be relieved by doing bodyweight exercises or yoga.

If we talk about the removal of dyspepsia, there are several effective techniques that allow you to quickly remove the pain syndrome.

Proper nutrition and sleep

It is of paramount importance for the recovery of muscle tissue. After a hard workout, your muscles need protein and carbohydrates: the former supply the amino acids needed to quickly heal micro-fractures, and the latter provide the muscles with glycogen. Drinking at least 2 liters of water a day helps to eliminate toxins from the body and eliminates dehydration, leading to muscle fatigue (but do not overdo it: drinking too much will cause the kidneys to work too actively).Don’t forget to rest: stick to the regimen, try not to stay up too late and sleep at least 8 hours. A healthy sleep will help you regain strength and prepare for new workouts.

Relaxing massage

Massage is a very effective method of relieving sore throats. It relieves muscle clamps, accelerates lymph, increases muscle elasticity and relieves them of stiffness.

The Body & Mind studio knows how to properly recover from sports: the new sports massage service will help you regain strength and well-being after a quality workout.Search the schedule for Massage’30 and Massage’60 and sign up for a relaxing massage session.

Hot tub or sauna

Sauna in The Base is what perfectly removes muscle soreness! During your stay in the sauna, the vessels dilate, which increases the volume of blood in the muscle tissues, promotes the elimination of toxins and accelerates the recovery process.

How to avoid the appearance of muscle pain after training

The best thing, of course, is to simply avoid pain.The easiest and most effective way to avoid soreness after exercise is to exercise wisely. Do not overload your muscles at the very first lesson: experienced trainers of The Base club advise to increase the load little by little, constantly adjusting its duration and intensity. Also, never spare time to warm up and cool down.

Warm-up

It is a necessary element of any workout that reduces the risk of injury, warms up the muscles, reduces their stiffness and relieves the athlete from the appearance of pain after training.

Hitch & Stretch

You need to finish any workout with simple exercises for all muscle groups, light jogging and stretching. This will help get rid of the lactic acid that has accumulated in the muscles during exercise.

Is it possible to train when the muscles are still sore after the previous training?

This question is often asked by novice athletes, and there is no single answer to it, it all depends on the goals that the trainee sets for himself.

If your goal is to gain muscle mass and improve strength results, then it will be inappropriate to continue exercising, since the painful sensations indicate that the process of muscle recovery is not over yet.

If training is needed to maintain fitness, then the muscles can be loaded, albeit with a lighter load.

If you find yourself in the gym in order to burn excess fat, then you can and even need to exercise, but the load should be more voluminous and less intense.

90,000 Muscle pain after exercise: types and how to get rid of it

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Last update date: 06/29/2021

Average Read Time: 3 minutes

Content

Types of muscle pain
How to get rid of muscle pain?
Motrin® for muscle pain

Everyone has experienced severe muscle pain after exercise.At the same time, many note that it appears after a while and interferes with the usual way of life. Experts and trainers refer to this condition as sore throat. However, you should be aware that muscles ache after exercise in different ways.

Types of muscle pain

• Moderate muscle pain. Appears immediately after class. Its appearance is explained by microtrauma and an excess of lactic acid in the muscles. This muscle pain is quite mild.
• Retarded muscle pain .Muscles begin to ache a few days after exertion, most often on the second day. This severe muscle pain interferes with full muscle contraction. It usually occurs with very intense training for beginners without a period of adaptation to loads, as well as with too much emphasis on eccentric loads (muscle stretching when lowering weights).
• Muscle pain from injury. Sharp at first, then aching, chilling, aggravated by the slightest exertion or from a sudden movement.In addition, it may be accompanied by edema and hyperemia of the damaged area. Regardless of the nature of the injury, in such cases, a doctor’s consultation is necessary. The most serious injuries characterized by this type of pain are muscle rupture, nerve compression, joint damage, etc.

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How to get rid of muscle pain?

Muscle pain from training, including in the legs, is a transient phenomenon. And it is easy to deal with it, observing a few rules.

• Balanced nutrition. The body of a person engaged in training must necessarily receive proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The calorie content of meals directly depends on the metabolic rate, health status and training goals. With a lack of nutrients, the body will not be able to fully recover after exercise.
• Drinking regime. The intake of a sufficient amount of water in the body promotes the elimination of toxins that negatively affect the recovery of muscles after intense physical exertion.
• Contrast shower and cold compresses. They help relieve muscle pain and fatigue. It should be borne in mind that a contrast shower implies an alternation of cool and warm water, and not hot and ice.
• Massage. Helps to improve blood circulation, as a result of which more oxygen and nutrients enter the tissues, and at the same time, toxins are more actively eliminated.
• A good night’s rest. Eight hours of sleep is a must for every athlete.Otherwise, the body will have an increased level of cortisol, which will negatively affect the recovery of the body and the intensity of muscle pain, which will only increase.
• Competent approach to classes . It includes a thorough warm-up, correct execution of all exercises, and a balanced training regimen. Rehabilitation exercises after the onset of pain include exercise on a stationary bike and running for long distances.

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Motrin® for muscle pain

Motrin® will help reduce muscle pain after exercise.This is a complex action drug that helps to get rid of discomfort for 12 hours. ¹ You can buy the product without a prescription at many pharmacies. Before use, be sure to read the instructions and consult a doctor.

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The information in this article is for guidance only and does not replace the professional advice of a physician. Consult a qualified professional for diagnosis and treatment.

¹ According to the instructions for medical use of the drug Motrin®.

90,000 Post-Workout Muscle Pain Relief: 7 Scientific Ways

Muscle pain, you probably know. Sometimes you only have problems with your legs or arms, but other days it seems like you were hit by a truck. If you’ve just started exercising or exercising irregularly, muscle soreness is definitely not an unknown problem.But sometimes even experienced bodybuilders or avid CrossFitters suffer from this. Muscle pain is, of course, a sign that you’ve worked hard in the gym, but it can be very annoying. We’ve previously told you what you can do to prevent muscle pain, but of course it can happen that despite all the precautions, you still have muscle problems. Want to relieve muscle soreness after exercise? Which can!

Relieve muscle pain after training

First, we’ll explain again what muscle pain is and what causes it.We then give you 7 tips to get rid of muscle pain as quickly as possible. Before you notice it, you’ll be sweating again in the gym!

What is muscle pain?

There are actually two types of muscle pain. Acute muscle pain is pain that you feel in your muscles during exercise. Delayed muscle pain, also in English Delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS is pain that you only start feeling later after a workout, for example a few hours later or the next morning.This pain is commonly referred to simply as muscle pain and we will talk about this delayed muscle pain in this article.

Delayed muscle pain, or DOMS, begins several hours after exercise and can sometimes last up to several days. Delayed muscle pain often worsens 24 to 72 hours after exercise. The sensation of muscle soreness after intense exercise is caused by eccentric movements. These are movements that lengthen your muscles. This stretch causes small tears in the muscles.It may sound unhealthy, but as these cracks appear, your muscles will try to adapt and repair themselves as quickly as possible so that they grow. These cracks ultimately lead to muscle growth! Unfortunately, this is not complete without muscle pain. Water does not flow under the lying stone Let’s just say.

How to get rid of muscle soreness after exercise: 7 tips

If you have a muscle sore, you at least know you did your best in the gym.But that doesn’t make him better. To quickly relieve muscle soreness after a workout, you can do the following 7 things.

1. Get a massage

Who doesn’t like a good massage? This is, of course, the best way to relax and unwind. Falling asleep on the massage table is almost inevitable! And if your muscle is sore, a good massage has even more benefits. It can help ease your pain so you can feel fit faster.

This can be seen, for example, from this study from 2011.Scientists conducting this study specifically tested for muscle pain in the muscles of the arms. The people in the study had no experience with resistance training. One half of the group received an intense massage three hours after the resistance training, while the other group received no massage. When muscle pain usually reaches its peak, the participants who received the massage were significantly less affected than the participants who did not receive the massage.

Other studies have shown that massage also helps against muscle pain if the pain is already getting worse.Many people think this is the case because more blood flows to the muscles through massage, and because the muscles become less stiff after the correct massage. A firm massage will definitely not hurt if you have muscle pain. Either way, this is a good reason to pamper yourself.

Can’t you get someone to massage you? Then you can always try it yourself, for example with massage balls.

2. Keep your muscles warm …

Did you like this good massage? You can continue to pamper yourself.Does your gym have a sauna? Then it’s a good idea to dive into this after that intense training.

From a study from July 2016 Warming muscles has been proven to be a very effective remedy for muscle pain. The participants were divided into three groups. All of them had to do as many squats as possible three times for five minutes. The first group of participants received a heat compress on their quadriceps immediately after exercise, which they had to keep around it for eight hours.The second group received a heat pack with the same instructions 24 hours after training, and the third group was a control group; these participants did not receive a heat pack.

The first group suffered from muscle pain significantly less than the control group. Hence, training your muscles right after your workout is a good way to combat DOMS. But the second group, which received the heat compress only after 24 hours, suffered much less muscle pain in the following days than the control group.So it’s never too late to dive into this sauna and warm up your muscles!

3. … or cool them

You might think cold can backfire if your muscles are aching. However, you are wrong! In addition to heat, cold is widely used to combat muscle pain. You may have seen athletes who, right after a great sports performance, pack their muscles well with ice. Often it is wrapped tightly, for example, with cling film. In their experience, cooling the muscles immediately after exercise helps prevent muscle soreness.

But even if you already have muscle aches, ice can help. In a 2015 study, 100 participants who exercised at roughly the same level were required to squat for 24 minutes. Immediately after training, or 24 hours later, they were given a hot or cold compress to heat or cool their muscles. Research has shown that cooling or heating helps prevent muscle soreness immediately after exercise, but participants who only received a cold compress after XNUMX hours found it to be very helpful against muscle soreness they were already experiencing.So if you just don’t have the opportunity to go to the sauna, you can always put this bag of frozen peas from the freezer on your muscles.

This tip is also a good reason to use a post workout protein ice cream to work inside. After all, you have to let your body cool down!

4. Try

with depleted water therapy

If heat and cold work well against muscle pain, can you combine these things? And if possible! Various studies have shown that contrast water therapy alternating cold and warm water can be effective for muscle pain.Several times alternately immersed in a bath of cold and warm water, you can stimulate blood circulation. In addition, it will also stimulate the lymphatic vessels. Cold water causes them to contract, and warm water expands them again. This causes the lymphatic fluid to move faster, which contributes to the inflammatory process. It may not sound good, but it is this inflammatory process that repairs your muscles after exercise.

In Deze Studie Researchers tested the effects of cold water baths, hot water baths and contrast water therapy .Participants who were asked to alternate between a 15 ° C bath and a 38 ° C bath after exercise experienced far fewer muscle complaints and muscle pain than other participants. Water Contrast Therapy seems like a good way to deal with muscle pain! If you don’t have a bath, you can of course always set the shower temperature higher and lower. You immediately have a good reason to take a good long shower.

5. Use foam roller

You may have seen them at the gym; those weird rubber rolls that you don’t know exactly what to do with them.They are foam rollers, and while they don’t look particularly useful or helpful, they are very helpful to use after a workout before going home.

In this study, participants were required to perform squats for ten sets of ten reps. A daunting task, especially when you consider that they all had to carry a lot of weight. After squatting, they began to work with a foam roller for twenty minutes, and 24 hours and 48 hours after training, they also had to do exercises with a foam roller.Four weeks later, the study was repeated again, but they did not receive a foam roller to massage the muscles after exercise. It soon became clear that the foam roller exercise made the muscle pain they experienced after exercise much less intense.

The foam roller is therefore a handy tool when you want to get rid of muscle pain. With it, you can do different exercises for different muscle groups. It might sound a little odd at first and certainly not fun, but later on you’ll be glad you did!

6.Stand on the vibrating plate.

Do you remember them, these vibrating plates? A few years ago, vibratory plates were force plates suddenly became very popular and you have seen them in every gym. This trend faded pretty quickly, but if you’re lucky, another similar device will appear in your gym. This device has not been proven to be an effective workout aid, but you can use it to relieve muscle pain.

In this study, the participants underwent rigorous training, in which, among other things, they had to complete several sprints.The participants were then divided into two groups. Both groups were required to do stretching exercises twice a day for three days after training. One group did it on a vibrating plate, the other did not. Participants who performed the vibration plate exercises had much less muscle pain. Does your gym have such a device? Then be sure to step on it when you’re completely numb again.

7. Don’t worry

This last tip may sound a little odd, but off this study Psychological factors also play a role in how you experience muscle pain.The 35 participants were required to complete a series of questionnaires in which they were required to indicate, among other things, their fear of muscle pain and the extent to which they tended not to exercise due to this fear. Then they underwent hard training so that they began to have muscle pains. In the midst of muscle pain, they had to fill out a questionnaire again, in which, among other things, they had to indicate how severe the pain was.

Results showed that participants who previously indicated that they were afraid of pain experienced much more muscle pain than those who were not.If you start to worry about muscle pain you might get before or after exercise, you will likely find that the muscle pain gets worse. So you can see that your brain has a huge impact on pain. So don’t worry, everything will be fine!

With these seven tips, muscle pain relief shouldn’t be an issue after exercise. Before you know it, you’ll be completely old again and you can work out in the gym again.

What do you do to reduce muscle pain after exercise?

Share your tips in the comments!

90,000 Muscle Dyspnoea – How To Quickly Get Rid of Dramatic Diseases and Muscle Pain

If you exercise regularly, then you are probably familiar with the sensation of muscle soreness that occurs after exercise. This is the so-called krepatura – the body’s response to overload, a kind of adaptation of muscle tissue to work it out.Where does it come from and how to get rid of it? Read this article.

What is DOMS?

You went to the gym, worked on certain muscle groups, and the next day you practically cannot move because of the pain? This is muscle soreness. It is worth distinguishing it from painful sensations arising from injuries. At the same time, even a repeated load that warms up the muscles is not able to immediately and completely eliminate the unpleasant sensations: after training, the pain will return.Fortunately, experienced bodybuilders know several ways to reduce pain and get rid of soreness faster.

This is interesting: according to medical research, the complex of unpleasant sensations is especially acute in the interval from 24 to 72 hours after physical activity. *

At the same time, it is very important to be able to distinguish between your own feelings and determine where the problem lies in the soreness, and where the pain is caused by muscle stretching. Otherwise, additional loads can lead to unpleasant consequences.

Types of muscle pain

How to distinguish between trauma and sore throat? According to the subjective sensations that arise in the body after physical exertion.

Natural pain . Occurs after training. Working out the muscles leads to microtraumas: the fibers are literally torn, they are filled with lactic acid. In the process of regeneration, the tissue lengthens and increases in volume, as a result, the same beautiful muscle relief is obtained. This pain is not harmful to the body and is the result of the stress experienced by the muscles.

Delayed pain . May occur a few days after intense exertion. As a result, this type of muscle soreness prevents the muscles from contracting normally. How to get rid of this problem? Only additional workouts. Otherwise, the load will be useless, the muscles will not develop, but will return to their original state.

Pain caused by trauma . It occurs immediately when a muscle or ligament is injured.Has an acute character, does not go away 2-3 days after exercise.

Effect of lactic acid

After intense physical training, the muscles begin to experience a lack of oxygen. Then, in order to obtain the necessary energy, a spare mechanism is switched on, where, in the process of splitting water and carbon dioxide, lactic acid begins to be produced. As a result, the vessels dilate, increasing blood flow to the muscles. In addition, it is lactic acid that helps red blood cells to give maximum oxygen.At the final stage of this metabolic process, it goes to the liver, where it is broken down and converted into glucose. In this case, the occurrence of lactic acid in the muscles is one of the main factors provoking pain syndrome. That is, in order to get rid of unpleasant sensations, this substance literally needs to be “dispersed”. What is the fastest and most effective way to relieve sore throat? With a massage that will help speed up the processing of lactic acid. To do this, you do not need to go to a professional: if you stretch your muscles on your own, the pain will also go away.

How to avoid the occurrence of DOMS?

Unfortunately, no way. The only way to avoid muscle soreness is not to exercise at all, or choose a gentle regimen with minimal stress. However, this does not mean that any exercise will be unpleasant. You can reduce pain syndrome if you follow a few simple rules:

• Be sure to warm up before training. This should take at least twenty minutes, and during the warm-up process, it is necessary to warm up all muscle groups;
• Drink clean water during or after exercise.
• increase the load gradually;
• After training, do some stretching and relaxation exercises;
• Pay attention to a specialized food product for athletes nutrition.For example, Herbalife 24 Revitalizing Cocktail, fortified with iron to provide oxygen to your tissues, can help you bounce back faster after exercise and avoid injury. The composition contains protein and L-glutamine, which also contribute to muscle building. Due to its pleasant taste, you can enjoy a cocktail and at the same time replenish your strength.

It is important! All exercises must be performed smoothly, without sudden movements and jerks, as this minimizes the risk of damage to muscles and ligaments.**

How to quickly get rid of DOMS?

If muscle pain does occur, you can use a whole range of recommendations developed by experienced bodybuilders.

1. Take a hot shower or bath. This will increase blood flow to your muscles and help them relax and recover faster. This method can be used only for dyspnea, in case of sprains or other injury to the ligaments, it is contraindicated!
2. Get a massage.You can do it yourself or with the help of a specialist. Such an effect will help disperse lactic acid, relieve muscle spasms and tissue swelling.
3. Use ointments. There are special sports gels based on natural herbs, created specifically to relieve muscle soreness.
4. Get some sleep. Healthy sleep is one of the best ways to recover. If, after intense exertion, you suffer from insomnia, then the training program needs to be revised.

It is important! Proper nutrition plays a huge role: a balanced diet will help you restore energy faster and avoid overloading during training.***

Conclusions

How to remove muscle soreness? Train more, but at the same time choose the optimal intensity of the loads. To prevent muscle pain, you need to do daily exercises, which will help warm up and disperse lactic acid. A particularly important point for beginners is the gradual increase in workload. In addition, you must not forget about proper nutrition and drinking regime. All this will help keep the body in good shape, prevent pain and muscle congestion.And if you can’t avoid the problem – seek help from a professional massage therapist, do some stretching exercises or take a hot bath. And, of course, keep in mind Herbalife Nutrition products that can help prevent serious injury and recover faster, even after strenuous exercise.

References:

* Does Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage Play a Role in Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy? https: // www.researchgate.net/publication/221841567_Does_Exercise-Induced_Muscle_Damage_Play_a_Role_in_Skeletal_Muscle_Hypertrophy

** Cynthia Vader. Yoga + Pilates = Yogalates. Fashion fitness for the soul https://booksbunker.com/sintiya_veyder/65045/

*** Arnold Schwarzenegger. The new encyclopedia of bodybuilding. Book 5: Health, Nutrition and Diet. https://www.litmir.me/br/?b=178801

How to reduce muscle pain

How to reduce muscle pain after intense exercise

How to reduce muscle pain after intense exercise

Exercise stress leads to muscle pain.The reason for the appearance of pain is microtrauma to the connective and muscle tissue, which a person receives during intense physical exertion, as well as inflammatory processes. Typically, this muscle pain begins to appear 12-24 hours after exercise and reaches its peak one to three days after exercise. Muscle pain can be experienced by all people after exercise, regardless of the level of physical fitness. Pain is normal and is a sign that your muscles are gradually adapting to stress.Is it possible to reduce pain and heaviness in the legs after intense exertion?
What is DOMS?
Pain in the muscles, legs, and throughout the body is called DOMS. A classic example of the onset of soreness is pain during intense first workouts. Another cause of muscle soreness is overuse during exercise. Also, unusual, new exercise complexes can lead to pain in the legs and muscles. Well, the last reason why muscle pain occurs is improper exercise performance, which causes the appearance of microtraumas of muscle fibers and provokes the appearance of painful sensations.
Can muscle pain be avoided after exercise?
So, we figured out the reasons for the appearance of pain in the muscles, now it’s worth moving on to whether pain can be avoided. The main cause of muscle pain is irregular physical activity. If you train systematically, then from physical activity you will not get pain, but pleasure. In addition, after a long break between workouts, you should not strive to start classes intensively, it is better to start the first workouts with a shorter duration and load.Of course, a warm-up should be done before exercise, as this will help warm up your muscles and develop your joints. All this in combination can prevent injuries and muscle pain. In addition, it is very important to do everything correctly during exercise, to monitor your breathing. Well, at the end of the workout, perform a set of exercises for stretching and relaxing the muscles of the arms, legs, back and press, this will reduce tone and relieve the muscles from clogging.
Several ways to relieve muscle pain
If after training you could not avoid muscle pain, then we offer you several more ways to get rid of painful sensations.Proper nutrition plays an important role in muscle recovery. After intense physical activity, the body needs carbohydrates and protein. Proteins provide amino acids to damaged muscles that are needed for healing, while carbohydrates fill them with glycogen. It is also very important to drink at least 2 liters of water every day to prevent dehydration, which can lead to muscle fatigue. Water helps to flush out toxins, shortening the recovery time of the body.
Low-intensity aerobic exercise also has an effect on reducing pain and heaviness in the legs after intense exercise.Such exercises can help relieve muscle stiffness and soreness, increase blood flow to damaged muscles, providing them with plenty of nutrients and oxygen for intensive recovery. Cardio can help reduce leg pain, and bodyweight exercises (yoga or push-ups) can help reduce upper body soreness.
A cold compress will help relieve pain and discomfort in damaged muscles, and get rid of inflammation. During the first day after exercise, it is best to apply cold to the muscles.Apply the compress for 20 minutes every 4-6 hours. Heat will also help get rid of stiffness and pain in the muscles, promoting the expansion of blood vessels. You can apply heat to sore muscles up to 3 times a day for 20 minutes (hot bath, heating pad, warming cream). And the alternation of heat and cold will allow you to get the maximum result from both methods – reduce inflammation with cold, and increase blood circulation with heat to get rid of muscle pain. A contrast shower or compresses (warm and cold) are perfect for this.An effective and relaxing way to relieve muscle soreness is massage, which increases blood circulation, improves elasticity, and relieves tension and stiffness.
Well, in conclusion, we note that if after physical activity you have painful sensations, then give your body time to rest and recover. If you just rest and your muscles are not under physical stress, then in a couple of days the pain will go away on its own, without any therapy.

What you need to know about muscle pain

Injury, overuse and improper technique are the three main causes of muscle pain. “Severe pain arises from irregular exercises, improperly selected resistance weights, or general load during training. To avoid this, it is necessary to do a good warm-up, exercise regularly, the training should be varied, and most importantly, it should correspond to the level of the athlete’s training. “ It hurts – it means it grows! ” – this answer can often be heard from a coach to a complaint about muscle pain.Although it sounds a little wild, it still has common sense. Violations of the integrity of the muscle fiber should give a metabolic effect, that is, an increase in muscle. Therefore, very often then, and even now, many coaches and simply practicing try to achieve a painful effect at each workout. However, you can achieve the desired result without the occurrence of such sensations, – says David Klimov, trainer at the interval training studio Booster Workout. “To avoid serious injury, it is important to be responsible for your exercise technique, follow the instructor’s instructions, and feel free to ask the coach for help or advice.”

“After certain training, people complain of knee pain. This can signal joint problems, but more often than not, you have overloaded one of the lines. When we give more load to only one plane in the body, over time, tension occurs in this area and compensation – in the opposite. It often happens that overloading the front of the thigh spasms the muscle, pulls the ligament, and this leads to pain in the knee. And there can be many such examples in our body.Be sure to make sure that your workouts give an even load, – explains Yuri Gavrish, trainer of the Pilates PMP mono studio network. – The same goes for the lower back. 80 percent of sports and fitness injuries involve the lower back and lumbosacral region. This is due to incorrect exercise technique, as well as insufficient mobility of the hip joints. Another unpleasant moment is a pain in the head, which often happens in the morning after a workout. It is localized in the back of the head or above.With such pain, it is often enough to wash the trapezius muscles and the shoulder girdle, and everything goes away. The reason for this is that during exercise, people overextend the trapezius muscles, tighten the neck muscles and impair blood flow to the head. This tendency is especially characteristic of office workers, who in life are accustomed to straining the neck-collar zone, shoulder girdle and do not even notice this for themselves. It is important to learn not to lift your shoulders or pinch these areas during your studies. ”

If the pain in the muscles is accompanied by swelling, bruising or crunching and clicks in the muscles, or is acute, then it is necessary to suspend the exercise and consult a doctor.

What to do if muscles ache after training

Why muscles ache

During training with an unusual load and an emphasis on the eccentric phase (stretching the muscles under load), muscle fibers are damaged. Microtrauma causes inflammation, which reaches its peak in 24–72 hours, depending on the severity of the injury.

In addition, metabolic products accumulate in the muscles. Because of this, swelling, heaviness and discomfort appear.

This is what experts say about it:

Roman Malkov

sports medicine physician, nutritionist, physician at the centers of wellness and body modeling Body Forming

Muscle pain occurs as a result of the accumulation of metabolic products.These primarily include free radicals and hydrogen ions. They are formed in large numbers in physically unprepared people. It is especially strong during the first training sessions.

In addition, blood circulation can be impaired in damaged muscles. And this slows down their recovery.

Natalia Labzova

therapist, exercise therapy and sports medicine doctor, rehabilitation therapist, massage therapist, leading teacher of the RockTape educational center

Muscles that are in increased tone after exercise mechanically compress the vessels responsible for their blood supply.

It will not be possible to completely get rid of delayed muscle pain, or soreness. But symptoms can be alleviated or partially prevented.

How to get rid of muscle soreness

1. Coffee and cherry juice

Researchers from the University of Georgia found ^{that taking caffeine one hour before maximum effort workout reduces muscle pain by 48%, and before training with submaximal (75 –85% of the maximum) efforts – by 26%.However, the study involved only women who did not drink a lot of coffee in their daily lives. Therefore, it is impossible to say for sure whether this method will help coffee lovers.}

After a hard workout, it’s best to drink some cherry juice. According to 2010 study ^{, cherry juice contains the antioxidants anthocyanins, which reduce inflammation and muscle pain after exercise.}

But the maximum benefits will be received by people exercising in the evenings, shortly before bedtime. Cherry juice contains melatonin, which can help you fall asleep faster.

What to do

1. Drink coffee before training if you are not a coffee lover.
2. Drink cherry juice or eat cherries after training.

2. Compression knitwear

Roman Petukhov, CEP brand expert, says that in order to prevent pain and shorten the recovery period, it is necessary to improve blood circulation. Then the tissues will receive more oxygen and nutrients, and the venous blood flow will quickly remove toxins and decay products.

Athletes use compression hosiery for this.

A 2013 study ^{confirmed that compression tights reduced post-exercise muscle damage by 26.7%.}

A 2017 study ^{also showed the effectiveness of compression garments in relieving DOMS. The compression sleeve provided quick recovery of isometric strength and reduced muscle pain.}

Roman Petukhov

CEP brand expert

Compression hosiery creates distributed pressure on tissues, supports muscles and veins, improves blood flow, reduces muscle microvibration.The result is increased muscle endurance and performance.

What To Do

1. Wear compression garments during and after exercise.

3. Supplements: BCAAs and Taurine

A 2010 study showed ^{that taking isoleucine, leucine and valine (100 mg per kg of body weight) before exercise significantly reduces muscle pain and muscle weakness 48 hours after exercise …}

Taurine, which has an anti-inflammatory effect and reduces oxidative stress, can help BCAAs.In 2013, scientists found ^{that taking 2 grams of taurine and 3.2 grams of BCAAs three times a day for two weeks reduced post-workout inflammation. And this is evidenced not only by the feelings of the athletes, but by biochemical markers.}

What to Do

1. Take BCAAs as recommended by the manufacturer or your coach.
2. Try combining BCAAs and taurine. But keep in mind that the effect will be noticeable in at least two weeks.

4.Cold or heat

Athletes often take ice baths to reduce inflammation after exercise. However, scientific evidence does not support the benefits of this method. 2003 study ^{showed that ice massage had no effect on post-workout muscle pain. And a 2007 randomized study found no beneficial effects from an ice bath.}

In 2012, Canadian scientists found ^{that menthol cream-analgesic copes better with dizziness than ice.Menthol does not cool the tissues, but acts on the receptors, causing the sensation of coldness and relieves muscle pain.}

Heat is more suitable for relieving sore throat. Perhaps this is due to its ability to improve blood circulation.

To quickly cope with post-exercise myalgia, it is necessary to restore blood circulation in the muscles, which in turn will eliminate stagnant metabolic products.

Natalya Labzova

Exercise therapy and sports medicine doctor

Warming plasters and moist warm compresses are well suited to relieve muscle pain.In 2013, scientists compared ^{the efficacy of ThermaCare dry warming patches (stuck on for 8 hours) and moist warming compress (put on for 2 hours). Both dry and moist heat reduced pain and helped maintain muscle strength and activity after exercise.}

You can also try a contrast shower. A 2008 study ^{found that it reduced pain after exercise.}

What to do

1. Use a heating patch or wet compress immediately after training or when you get home.
2. When muscles ache, spread with menthol analgesic cream.
3. Take a contrast shower to relieve pain.

5. Massage and rolling on rollers

Rolling out the gluteus muscles on a roller

Massage of the quadriceps on a roller

Rolling out the biceps of the thigh on a roller

Massage will help reduce muscle pain. One old study, ^{, found that 30 minutes of massage two hours after exercise reduced delayed muscle pain, creatine kinase (an enzyme that increases in response to injury), and cortisol.}

The most effective ways to combat muscle pain: fluid intake, massage and sauna. Manual massage can be used. Lymphatic drainage massage on a low-frequency apparatus for EMS training works no less effectively.

Roman Malkov

sports medicine physician, nutritionist

Study ^{from 2003 showed that 20 minutes of massage two hours after exercise significantly reduced muscle pain 48 hours after exercise.}

Massage rollers or balls with different relief surfaces can be used. They act mechanically on soft tissues to relax them. Alternatively, you can use kinesiological tapes.

Natalya Labzova

Exercise therapy and sports medicine doctor

A 2017 study ^{proved the benefits of rolling on a massage roller two days after training. Participants in the study rolled their quads for one minute, then rested for 30 seconds and performed four more sets of one minute each.As a result, painful sensations decreased by 45%.}

What to do

1. Roll out the painful muscles on a massage roller or with a tennis ball. Give each muscle at least two minutes. Look for exercises in this article.
2. Go for a regular massage, lymphatic drainage massage, or do it yourself.

6. Medium intensity exercise

Delayed muscle pain usually occurs after unusual exertion.If you train regularly and increase the load gradually, your muscles won’t hurt.

During training, the body adapts and learns to cope with free radicals by activating the antioxidase system (more enzymes are produced).

Roman Malkov

sports medicine doctor, nutritionist

In addition, physical activity should not be completely ruled out: moderate exercise will help reduce discomfort. A 2013 study ^{found that 10 minutes of elastic band exercise reduced muscle soreness as well as massage.Light restorative exercise increases blood flow, which helps the body heal inflammation faster.}