How can you relieve sore muscles after exercising. What causes muscle soreness from workouts. When should you be concerned about post-exercise muscle pain. How long does typical muscle soreness last after working out. What are the best ways to prevent excessive muscle soreness from exercise.

Understanding Exercise-Induced Muscle Soreness

Exercise is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle, contributing to improved cardiovascular health, stronger bones, and enhanced muscular strength. However, engaging in physical activities, especially new or intense workouts, can lead to muscle soreness. This discomfort is often a sign that your muscles are adapting to the stress of exercise, growing stronger in the process.

There are two primary types of exercise-induced muscle soreness:

• Acute soreness: Occurs immediately after exercise
• Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS): Develops 12-72 hours post-exercise

DOMS is particularly common when introducing new exercises or increasing workout intensity. It results from microscopic tears in muscle fibers, a natural part of the muscle strengthening and growth process.

Effective Remedies for Muscle Soreness

While muscle soreness is a normal part of the fitness journey, several strategies can help alleviate discomfort and promote faster recovery:

1. Gentle stretching
2. Muscle massage
3. Adequate rest
4. Ice therapy for inflammation reduction
5. Heat application to increase blood flow
6. Over-the-counter pain relievers
7. Topical creams and gels containing menthol or capsaicin

These remedies can be particularly effective when combined and tailored to individual needs and preferences.

The Role of Hydration in Muscle Recovery

Proper hydration is crucial for muscle recovery and overall exercise performance. Water plays a vital role in:

• Regulating body temperature
• Lubricating joints
• Transporting nutrients for energy production

Insufficient hydration can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, and more severe symptoms. Ensuring adequate water intake before, during, and after exercise is essential for optimal muscle function and recovery.

Preventive Measures to Minimize Muscle Soreness

While completely avoiding muscle soreness is challenging, several strategies can help minimize its intensity and duration:

Proper Warm-up Techniques

Research indicates that warming up muscles before exercise may be more beneficial than static stretching. An effective warm-up increases blood flow to the muscles, preparing them for the upcoming activity. Examples of warm-up exercises include:

• Light jogging or cycling
• Jumping rope
• Lifting light weights

Gradual Progression in Exercise Intensity

Gradually increasing the intensity and duration of workouts allows muscles to adapt over time, reducing the likelihood of excessive soreness. This approach, known as progressive overload, is fundamental to safe and effective fitness improvement.

Proper Exercise Technique

Employing correct form and technique during exercises is crucial for preventing muscle strain and injury. For those new to exercise or specific movements, seeking guidance from a qualified fitness professional can ensure proper execution and minimize the risk of unnecessary soreness or injury.

Post-workout Cool-down and Stretching

Cooling down after exercise, including gentle stretching, helps circulate blood away from the muscles and back to the heart, aiding in recovery. Stretching warm, relaxed muscles can also improve flexibility and reduce the risk of injury in subsequent workouts.

The Importance of Rest and Recovery

Adequate rest between workouts is crucial for muscle recovery and growth. However, complete inactivity is not always the best approach. Consider the following guidelines:

• Allow approximately 48 hours before intensely working the same muscle groups
• Engage in light exercise or alternative activities during recovery periods
• Listen to your body and adjust your workout schedule as needed

Active recovery, such as light walking or cycling, can actually promote faster healing by increasing blood flow to sore muscles without causing additional stress.

Recognizing Normal Soreness vs. Potential Injury

While muscle soreness is a common and generally harmless aspect of exercise, it’s essential to distinguish between normal discomfort and potential injuries. Signs that may indicate a more serious issue include:

• Pain lasting more than a week
• Severe pain that limits movement
• Worsening pain with continued exercise
• Accompanying symptoms like dizziness or difficulty breathing
• Visible redness, swelling, or warmth in the affected area
• Pain localized in joints, bones, or tendons rather than muscles

If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional for proper evaluation and treatment.

The RICE Method for Acute Injuries

In cases of suspected strains or sprains, the RICE method can be an effective first-aid approach:

• Rest: Avoid using the injured area
• Ice: Apply cold therapy to reduce swelling and pain
• Compression: Wrap the injury to minimize swelling
• Elevation: Raise the injured area above heart level to reduce bruising and swelling

This approach can be particularly beneficial in the first 48-72 hours following an acute injury.

Nutrition and Supplementation for Muscle Recovery

Proper nutrition plays a crucial role in muscle recovery and reducing soreness. Consider the following dietary strategies:

Protein Intake

Consuming adequate protein is essential for muscle repair and growth. Aim to include protein-rich foods in your diet, such as:

• Lean meats
• Fish
• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Plant-based sources like legumes and tofu

Anti-inflammatory Foods

Incorporating foods with anti-inflammatory properties may help reduce muscle soreness. Examples include:

• Fatty fish (rich in omega-3 fatty acids)
• Berries
• Leafy green vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Turmeric and ginger

Hydration and Electrolytes

Maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte balance is crucial for muscle function and recovery. In addition to water, consider consuming:

• Sports drinks (for intense or prolonged exercise)
• Coconut water
• Fruits high in electrolytes (e.g., bananas, oranges)

Potential Supplements

While a balanced diet should be the primary focus, certain supplements may aid in muscle recovery:

• Whey protein
• Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)
• Creatine
• Tart cherry juice

It’s important to consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before starting any new supplement regimen.

Advanced Recovery Techniques

For those seeking additional methods to alleviate muscle soreness and enhance recovery, consider these advanced techniques:

Foam Rolling

Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release, can help reduce muscle tension and improve flexibility. This technique involves using a foam roller to apply pressure to specific points on the body, helping to break up adhesions in the muscles and surrounding connective tissues.

Compression Garments

Wearing compression garments during or after exercise may help reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery. These tight-fitting clothes are designed to increase blood flow and reduce muscle vibration during activity.

Cold Water Immersion

Also known as ice baths, this technique involves immersing the body in cold water (typically 50-59°F or 10-15°C) for short periods. While research on its effectiveness is mixed, some athletes find it helpful for reducing muscle soreness and inflammation.

Contrast Water Therapy

This method alternates between hot and cold water immersion, potentially improving circulation and reducing inflammation. A typical protocol might involve 1 minute in hot water (98-104°F or 37-40°C) followed by 1 minute in cold water (50-59°F or 10-15°C), repeated for several cycles.

Percussion Massage Devices

These handheld devices deliver rapid bursts of pressure into muscle tissue, potentially helping to increase blood flow, reduce muscle tension, and alleviate soreness. While they can be effective, it’s important to use them correctly to avoid injury.

The Psychological Aspect of Muscle Soreness

The mental approach to muscle soreness can significantly impact how it’s perceived and managed. Consider the following psychological strategies:

Positive Reframing

Viewing muscle soreness as a sign of progress rather than a hindrance can help maintain motivation. This “good pain” mindset acknowledges that some discomfort is a normal part of the adaptation process.

Mindfulness and Body Awareness

Practicing mindfulness can help differentiate between normal muscle soreness and potential injury. This increased body awareness allows for better decision-making regarding when to push through discomfort and when to rest.

Setting Realistic Expectations

Understanding that muscle soreness is a normal part of the fitness journey can prevent discouragement. Expecting some level of discomfort, especially when starting a new program or increasing intensity, can help maintain long-term commitment to exercise.

Celebrating Small Victories

Acknowledging improvements in strength, endurance, or reduced soreness over time can boost motivation. Keeping a workout journal to track progress can be an effective tool for recognizing these achievements.

By implementing these strategies and maintaining a balanced approach to exercise and recovery, individuals can effectively manage muscle soreness while progressing towards their fitness goals. Remember that consistency and patience are key factors in any successful fitness journey.

Sore Muscles from Exercise – familydoctor.org

Exercise is an important part of a healthy, active lifestyle. It improves your heart and lungs and builds strong bones and muscles. However, exercise can cause sore muscles. This is common if you try a new exercise or increase your intensity. You may use new muscles, strain your muscles, or get small tears in your muscle fibers. These are signs that your muscles are trying to respond to this new exercise, grow, and get stronger.

Path to improved health

Your muscles may get sore right away. This is known as acute soreness. You may feel them ache or tighten up about 12 hours after you exercise. In some cases, the discomfort may peak 48 to 72 hours afterward. This is called delayed-onset muscle soreness. During this time, your muscles repair and strengthen themselves. Sore muscle pain can improve quickly or last several days.

To help relieve muscle soreness, try:

• Gentle stretching.
• Muscle massage.
• Rest.
• Ice to help reduce inflammation.
• Heat to help increase blood flow to your muscles. Even a warm bath or shower can help.
• Over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicine, such as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like ibuprofen (brand name: Advil).
• OTC creams and gels (brand names: IcyHot and Aspercreme) that contain menthol or capsaicin can ease muscle soreness.

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid sore muscles. It’s part of getting stronger and healthier. There are some things you can do to help lessen the amount of soreness.

• Warm up.Studies show that warming up your muscles before exercise may be better than stretching them. It wakes up your muscles by increasing blood flow to them. To warm up, do light versions of certain exercises. These include slow jogging or biking, jumping rope, or lifting light weights.
• Drink water.Water helps control your body temperature, loosen your joints, and transport nutrients to create energy. Without water, your body will struggle to perform at its highest level. You may have muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, or more serious symptoms.
• Limited rest.Wait about 48 hours before working the same muscle groups in the same way (with the same intensity or for as long). Limited or lighter exercise of the same muscles can actually help. For example, if you were sore after running, a light walk or bike ride the next few days can help. Avoid complete rest and immobilization.
• Use proper technique. Doing exercises the right way helps protect you from muscle strain or injury. If you belong to a gym or health club, ask a trainer or instructor for help. They can show you the proper way to lift weights and use the machines and equipment.
• Cool down.It’s important to stretch after you work out. Your muscles are relaxed and more flexible when they’re warm. Stretching also circulates blood away from your muscles and back to your heart to aid in recovery.
• Stay within your limits.You may be tempted to push yourself but remember to progress slowly with exercise. Over time, you can increase the amount of weight you lift or the length of time you run. If you try to increase too soon, you may injure yourself.

Things to consider

Sore muscles are normal. They grow back strong and are able to work at a higher level of intensity for a longer time. However, be careful that you don’t injure your muscles, tendons, or joints. Pain closer to the joint may be a signal of a more serious injury.

If you think you have a strain or a sprain, try the RICE approach.

• You may need to rest the injury all or part of the way. It will depend on how bad it is.
• Use ice packs, ice slush baths, or ice massages. These can decrease your swelling, pain, bruising, and muscle spasms. You can use ice for up to 3 days after the injury.
• You can wrap your injury to reduce swelling and bruising. Keep it wrapped for up to a week after the injury.
• Raise your injury at or above your heart. This helps prevent swelling and reduces bruising. Keep it elevated for 2 to 3 hours a day, if possible.

Contact your doctor or seek care if:

• Your muscle soreness lasts for more than a week.
• Your pain is unbearable and prevents you from moving.
• Your pain gets worse with exercise.
• Your pain causes dizziness or trouble breathing.
• You notice redness, swelling, or warmth in the sore muscles.
• The RICE treatment doesn’t work.
• You feel pain in the joint, over the bones, or in the tendons.

Questions for your doctor

• How long will it take for my muscles to feel better?
• Are there certain exercises that are more likely to cause muscle soreness?
• How does a sore muscle feel different from an injury?
• If I use a muscle while it’s sore, am I at risk for injuring it?
• How do I know my pain is not from something more serious?

Resources

American College of Sports Medicine: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

How to Relieve Sore Muscles and Muscle Pain After Exercise

Prolonged muscle pain after a workout can be a sign of muscle injury. The Department of Physiotherapy and LIFE Centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) share some tips to relieve muscle pain.

Coping with delayed onset muscle soreness after a workout

Getting sore muscles a day or two after an intensive workout or rigorous exercise is normal, especially if you are increasing your exercise intensity or starting on a new sport or exercise. The delayed muscle aches and muscle pain are caused by tiny injuries in the muscle fibre and connective tissue.

This condition, known as
delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), is common, says Ms Cindy Ng Li Whye, Principal Physiotherapist at the
Department of Physiotherapy and
LIFE Centre,
Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the
SingHealth group.

“If you haven’t exercised for a while or if you are starting a new physical activity, you are likely to experience sore muscles after the workout. Your body is simply saying your muscles need time to recover,” says Cindy.

The good news is that once your body gets accustomed to the new sport or exercise, you will experience little or no muscle soreness.

Related article: 
How to Stay Motivated to Exercise

How long is muscle pain supposed to last?

The sore muscles that occur after a rigorous workout will usually subside after 24 to 48 hours of rest. But if the muscle aches do not go away after a few days of rest or even become more intense, it could be a sign that you have sustained a serious muscle injury.

Experiencing severe muscle pain during a workout could also be a sign that you have a muscle strain or muscle injury. If muscle pain is accompanied by breathing difficulty, high fever, muscle weakness and stiff neck, see a doctor.

Related article: 
Home Treatment for Common Running Injuries

Tips to relieve muscle pain and soreness

1. Use an ice pack

If it’s an acute injury, or if one notices swelling of the muscle or joint area and it feels warm, wrap an ice pack in a thin towel and place it on the sore muscles for about 15 minutes. If there isn’t any swelling and the muscles are just sore from the exercise, apply a heat pack for 15 minutes to boost blood circulation.

2. Go for a massage

A trigger-point or sports massage will help to relax very tight sore muscles and soothe muscle aches.

3. Stretch, stretch, stretch

Stretch your muscles for about 10 minutes after a rigorous workout to prevent sore muscles. And before exercising, remember to warm up the body with simple movements like arm swings and marching on the spot, or start walking slowly and gradually pick up the pace.

4. Do light exercises (such as walking, swimming)

Do not stop exercising completely. The fact that you are experiencing muscle soreness after a workout is a sign that your muscles have been stretched and are slowly getting stronger. By using your muscles (with light activity), you can speed up the elimination of lactic acid buildup.

5. Build up eccentric exercises slowly

You are more likely to get muscle aches if your muscles are working eccentrically. Eccentric contractions occur when your muscles lengthen under tension as seen in the “down motion” of a bicep curl. Walking or running downhill are also examples of eccentric training. Increase intensity gradually.

6. Take a warm bath

A warm bath may loosen tight muscles and boost blood circulation, providing temporary relief.

What about topical creams? “There is little evidence that liniments, oils and other typical over-the-counter sports creams have any effect beyond the massaging action,” says Cindy. However, by making the skin feel cold or hot, they may distract your mind from the soreness.

Need help adopting a better lifestyle? The LIFE Centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has a multidisciplinary team of experts who can provide you with guidance on weight management, exercise and diet.

Ref: S13

Other articles you may be interested in:

Participating in a Race? Foods to Eat and Avoid

Ligament, Tendon and Other Common Knee Injuries

Hot Yoga (Bikram Yoga): Is It Good for Your Body?

Why do I feel pain after exercise?

Have you ever felt sore after starting a new activity or pushing yourself harder than usual during a workout?

Muscle soreness that shows up 1 or 2 days after exercising can affect anyone, regardless of your fitness level.

But do not be put off. This type of muscle stiffness or achiness is normal, does not last long, and is actually a sign of your improving fitness.

Find out how to better manage your sore muscles after exercise.

Why do my muscles feel sore after exercising?

Sore muscles after physical activity, known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), can occur when you start a new exercise programme, change your exercise routine, or increase the duration or intensity of your regular workout.

When muscles are required to work harder than they’re used to or in a different way, it’s believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres, resulting in muscle soreness or stiffness.

DOMS is often mistakenly believed to be caused by a build up of lactic acid, but lactic acid is not involved in this process.

Who can DOMS affect?

Anyone can develop DOMS, even those who have been exercising for years, including elite athletes.

It can be alarming for people who are new to exercise, and may affect their initial enthusiasm to get fit.

The good news is the soreness will decrease as your muscles get used to the new physical demands being placed upon them.

The soreness is part of an adaptation process that leads to greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build.

What type of activities can cause DOMS?

Any movement you’re not used to can cause DOMS. Taking up a new exercise, a harder than usual workout, or working your muscles in a different way can all cause DOMS.

How long does DOMS last for?

DOMS typically lasts between 3 and 5 days. The pain, which can range from mild to severe, usually occurs 1 or 2 days after the exercise.

This sort of muscle pain should not be confused with any kind of pain you might experience during exercise, such as the acute, sudden and sharp pain of an injury, such as muscle strains or sprains.

How can I treat DOMS?

There’s no one simple way to treat DOMS. Nothing is proven to be completely effective.

These things may help ease some of the symptoms:

• rest
• ice packs
• painkillers
• massage

DOMS does not generally require medical intervention. But you should seek medical advice if the pain becomes unbearable, you experience severe swelling, or your urine becomes dark.

How can I prevent DOMS?

One of the best ways to prevent DOMS is to start any new activity programme gently and gradually. Allowing the muscle time to adapt to new movements should help minimise soreness.

There’s not much evidence that warming up will be effective in preventing DOMS. But exercising with warmed-up muscles will reduce your chance of injury and improve your performance.

While stretching has many benefits, there’s currently no evidence stretching before or after exercise helps reduce or prevent DOMS. 

Can I continue exercising with DOMS?

You can exercise with DOMS, although it may feel uncomfortable to begin with. The soreness should go away once your muscles have warmed up. The soreness will mostly likely return after exercising once your muscles have cooled down.

If you find it hard to exercise, you could rest until the soreness goes away. Alternatively, you could focus on exercises targeting less affected muscles to allow the most affected muscle groups time to recover.

Will I keep getting DOMS?

DOMS is a type of muscle conditioning, which means your muscles are adapting to the new activity. The next time you perform the same activity or exercise at the same intensity, there’ll be less muscle tissue damage, less soreness, and a faster recovery.

Page last reviewed: 3 February 2021
Next review due: 3 February 2024

5 scientifically proven ways to reduce muscle soreness

“This is going to hurt tomorrow.” We’ve all said it after a particularly grueling workout or return to the gym after an extended break.

Delayed onset muscle soreness, commonly referred to as DOMS, describes the muscular pain and stiffness that occurs following a heavy workload. It typically peaks around 24 to 48 hours after leaving the gym, explains exercise physiologist Matt Unthank, CSCS, director of training for Crossover Symmetry. “While the process is complicated and remains to be entirely understood, it is widely viewed as an inflammatory response due to a breakdown in muscles tissue.”

But that breakdown’s not necessarily a bad thing. “For a fit person who exercises regularly, I would actually view the occasional attack of DOMS as a good thing,” says Unthank. “It suggests an elevation in intensity and the inclusion of novel movements to a workout program, both of which are extremely good things for a training program. ” After all, for your muscles to repair, grow and become stronger, you first have to give them something to repair. And we’re talking about the same microscopic tears in the muscles that can leave you waddling the morning after your workout.

So how can you kill the pain without killing your results? Just turn to these five research-proven strategies.

5 Ways to Reduce Muscle Soreness, STAT

1. Eating Tart Cherries

The science: Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that marathoners consuming tart cherry juice five days before, on the day of, and 48 hours following their races reduced muscle soreness. And how’s this for the cherry on top? The athletes also showed signs of improved muscle recovery and function. Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, colorful antioxidant compounds that are believed to work their magic by decreasing excess inflammation.

Try it: “Under regular training conditions, good nutrition is enough to get antioxidants where they need to be,” Unthank says. But for an extra boost, you can work tart cherries, or just their juice, into your regular diet. A couple of servings per week, along with a generally nutrient-rich diet, is plenty during typical training. However, if you are gearing up for marathon, it can be beneficial to switch to a once-daily plan. Don’t like cherries? Red raspberries are another great source.

2. Drinking Coffee

The science: Multiple studies show that pre-workout caffeine consumption can reduce subsequent muscle soreness and fatigue. In one study published in the Journal of Pain, the strategy scored exercisers a 48 percent drop in DOMS. Apart from generally making everything better, caffeine has analgesic (pain-killing properties), which is why it is commonly contained in over-the-counter pain medications.

Try it: An hour before a particularly grueling workout, drink two cups of coffee (the amount of caffeine used in the Journal of Pain study). Bonus: 2014 PLOS ONE research shows that coffee hydrates as well as water, which is important to keep in mind when trying to combat muscle pain. Getting dehydrated during your workouts can significantly exacerbate symptoms of DOMS, according to the Journal of Athletic Training.

3. Getting a Massage

The science: Finally, justification for those spa days. Research from a 2014 study found that a post-exercise massage can significantly reduce pain. And over the long term, regularly getting massages may increase your body’s ability to fight off DOMS. Another 2015 study showed that massaged muscles contain more blood vessels than massage-free ones, which may result in improved recovery. They also display only half of the scar tissue that non-massaged muscles do. Not bad for some low-key me-time.

Try it: Schedule your sports massage directly following your workout. In the study, immediate massage was more effective at promoting tissue regeneration and reducing fibrosis compared to massage delayed 48 hours after exercise.

4. Foam Rolling

The science: Similar to massage, foam rolling is all about myofascial release, which relieves tension in the muscle’s connective tissue. And your trainer is right: Research has found that rolling out your muscles like dough can help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness. It can also improve performance in subsequent workouts.

Try it: Invest in a foam roller (we’re big fans of the TriggerPoint Grid), and spend about 10 to 15 minutes with it each day. You can make it part of your warm-up, cool-down, and on days that you don’t work out, part of overall recovery. (Also, check out these five moves that might be missing from your rolling repertoire.)

5. Performing Recovery Workouts

The science: Consider this permission to turn down the dial from time to time. In one 2012 study, women who performed a 20-minute bout of low- or moderate-intensity cycling immediately following their DOMS-inducing strength workouts enjoyed a reduction in muscle pain along with a added boost in strength. “Light recovery workouts increase blood flow, which does a number of things to naturally nudge the inflammatory process along, such as lymphatic draining, moving immune cells, and clearing inflammatory mediators,” Unthank explains.

Related

Try it: Cool down from your workouts with some light cardio, and schedule low-intensity, recovery-focused workouts throughout the week, he says. You don’t need to (and shouldn’t!) go heavy during every single workout for ultimate results. Aerobic exercise, like jogging or cycling as well as yoga, Pilates and other low-impact workouts are all great options for keeping DOMS at bay.

Other Recovery Methods

Epsom salts, cold compresses, ice baths — a lot of other pain-relieving techniques top the lists of weekend warriors and professional athletes alike. But not all are well-studied or have conclusive findings, Unthank says.

For instance, you’ll mostly find anecdotal evidence backing the use of post-exercise Epsom salt baths. And emerging evidence suggests that cold therapy might not be the pain reliever everyone thought it was. In one British Journal of Sports Medicine study, for example, three one-minute ice-water immersions were ineffective at reducing DOMs in a group of 40 exercisers. Contrary to popular opinion, research also shows that static stretching — whether performed before or after exercise — doesn’t reduce DOMS.

So what’s behind the rave reviews on these other methods? While it’s totally possible that there really is a benefit (and research just hasn’t caught up yet), a placebo effect could also be at play, Unthank says. In the end, it’s best to stick with science-backed strategies as your staples. If you want to supplement with other techniques, by all means. As long as you feel like it helps your post-workout soreness (and, of course, doesn’t pose any health risks), what’s the harm? If anything, those happier muscles just might be all in your head.

This story originally appeared on Life by Daily Burn.

NEXT: What happens to your body when you skip the gym

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21 Best Ways to Prevent and Cure Sore Muscles

Your muscles make every pullup, press, jump, crunch, run, squat, and curl possible. But after a brutal workout, taking a single step can feel like the greatest form of punishment. That’s because vigorous exercise causes small tears in muscle fibers, leading to an immune reaction as the body gets to work repairing the injured cells. Any type of soreness indicates that your muscles have been broken down. And while “broken down” isn’t synonymous with “injured,” it does mean that your muscles are compromised. That discomfort you feel 12-48 hours after a squat-heavy workout? It’s known as “delayed onset muscle soreness”. Some soreness is inevitable—in fact, it can be a sign of a good workout. But, to make the most of your sweat sessions, knowing how to prevent and cure (or at least alleviate) sore muscles and muscle damage is key. Here are 21 ways to do just that.

Know the difference between soreness and a strain

Knowledge is power—and identifying the cause of your pain is key to recovering quickly, or ending up sidelined for a while. Muscle soreness can last up to 72 hours, so if you find the feeling of pain in your muscles is lasting a week or more, you may have a strain. It’s important to listen to your body. A strain occurs when those same muscles that are torn during exercise are torn in larger amounts and to more significant degrees—and takes several weeks to heal. Check in with your doctor if you feel like your soreness is beyond “just” soreness.

Keep switching up your workouts

If you are constantly doing the exact same routine, the minute you try something new the muscles you haven’t been incorporating are going to suffer tenfold on the soreness scale. Try different workouts, like swimming, rowing, running, or boxing, to build total-body strength so you can keep all of your muscles ready for anything.

Eat protein

Eating protein won’t reduce muscle soreness, but it will help your muscles recover more quickly so you don’t feel the pain as long. Consuming 10g of whey protein before and 10g of whey protein following your workout will help reduce symptoms of DOMS, according to a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Use compression

Wearing compression garments can help speed up muscle recovery when you’re sore. Try TINTIN weighted compression shorts (which come with gel inserts to heat or cool muscles) or any of this compression gear for post-workout recovery.

Get a massage

Many pro athletes swear by this tried and true method, and work massages into their weekly training plans. “In prep for Rio, the past four years of my training has included less swimming and more recovery,” says three-time Paralympic medalist Tucker Dupree. “Massages have made a huge difference there.” Scheduling a bi-weekly or once-monthly deep tissue massage is worth it, and it’s backed by science.

Take a day off

Since sore muscles are already slightly damage, it’s important to not keep pushing through the pain with tougher workouts. “Soreness is your body saying, ‘Hey, you broke me a little bit, so let me build back up,’” says Aguillard. So, consider a total rest day if the soreness is intense.

Do some light activity

That said, there are benefits to a recovery workout in lieu of total rest. Light activity can alleviate soreness just as well as a massage, according to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Go out for a light 20-minute jog, swim, bike ride, or row session the day after a demanding workout.

Hydrate

Drinking enough water ensures that those nasty toxins trapped in your muscles that make DOMS even worse get flushed out faster, and that your muscles are hydrated enough to stay supple. Dehydrated muscles become tight and easily injured. Try to keep them hydrated by drinking at least half of your bodyweight in ounces of water a day.

Foam roll

Have certain muscles that always feel tight and restricted? Roll them out with a foam roller before you work out. This mobilizes the muscles, gets blood flowing, and keeps overuse injuries at bay. “You should foam roll the muscles that get sore often so that you can get full range of motion and build strength in muscles that may be underdeveloped,” says Brooke Ficara, DPT, at Spear Physical Therapy in NYC. Foam rolling is also great post-workout even if it hurts so good.

Consider upgrading your go-to roller for The VYPER, a cutting-edge roller that uses both pressure and vibration to improve circulation and work on tight muscles. The VYPER uses three different speed settings powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

Prime your muscles

For example, if you have a heavy squat session planned, do a few unilateral bridge exercises before picking up the weights to warm up the muscles you want to engage. This prevents excessive soreness and also imbalances that result in overuse injuries of more dominant muscles, such as hip flexors or hamstrings.

Drink cherry juice

One study found that drinking tart cherry juice for one week leading up to a strenuous running event (like a marathon) could help minimize post-run muscle pains and strains. Another study found cherry supplements (1 pill had the anti-inflammatory content of about 100 cherries) reduced muscle soreness by 24% two days after a strenuous resistance workout. And yet another study found post-lift strength loss was reduced 18% among those who drank cherry juice before their workouts.

Take a nap

Research suggests taking a nap around two hours after a workout helps the body enter deep, restorative states of sleep, which releases natural growth hormones to improve musculature and helps your body to repair.

Alternate muscle groups

While many advocate two days between workouts involving the same muscle group, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for recovery time. So the best assurance that you are giving your muscles the rest they need in between workouts is to alternate the muscle groups that you focus on each day.

Soak in an Epsom salt bath

Using Epsom salts in a bath soak isn’t just Grandma’s trick, it’s backed by science to help muscle restoration. It supplyies your body with the muscle-relaxing mineral magnesium. Magnesium is a primary component of Epsom salt. It’s a mineral that the body needs, and, unlike other minerals, is absorbs through the skin as you soak in the bath.

Caffeinate

According to studies, the muscle’s primary fuel source during exercise, glycogen, is replenished more rapidly when athletes have some caffeine with their post-workout carbs. Research results show that athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrates had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing intense, glycogen-depleting exercise, compared to when they consumed carbohydrates alone.

Build up your tolerance

In other words, don’t overdo it when you up your intensity. If you normally run five miles at a given pace, then don’t go much above six miles on the next run. For lifting weights, if you normally complete four sets of arms-intensive exercises, don’t go above five sets the next time. If you exceed the 10-20% increase threshold, the chances of experiencing severe muscle soreness soars.

Get some vitamin C

Vitamin C is shown to be effective in helping to prevent muscle soreness. Incorporate chili peppers, guavas, and citrus fruits—which are all high in vitamin C—into your diet.

Invest in some technology

NormaTec sleeves are recovery leggings that use “dynamic compression” with a peristaltic pulse that squeezes and travels up the leg from the bottom to the top to increase blood flow. Ironman record holders, the Boston Celtics, and Ryan Hall all swear by the high-tech system to speed up recovery.

Eat some kiwi

Everyone knows that potassium is a go-to nutrient to keep muscle cramps and soreness at bay. But, you don’t have to eat bananas by the bunch to get your potassium. Two kiwis supply more than 540mg of potassium (16% of the daily value) for 100 calories. One extra-large banana delivers 16% of the daily value for potassium. It also contains 25% more calories than a serving of kiwi. Bananas are also higher in sugar and carbs than kiwis.

Try a topical cream

Think of your typical topical pain reliever as a good standby for quick relief. Rock Sauce packs a combo of hot and cold relief, thanks to ingredients methyl salicylate, menthol, and capsaicin.

Cut back on the booze

Sorry about this one, but research suggests more than one or two drinks after working out could reduce the body’s ability to recover.

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How to Relieve Sore Muscles

Relieving Sore Muscles 

Whether you just started a new exercise program, lifted heavier in the gym than usual, just ran a half-marathon, or worked all weekend in the yard; if you live an active lifestyle then you are probably no stranger to muscle soreness. The stiff and achy feeling that you experience 12-48 hours after strenuous activity is known to medical professionals and physical therapists as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. This article will discuss the ins and outs of how to relieve sore muscles. 

What is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)?

DOMS resulStretching for Sore Muscles
ts from microscopic tears within muscle tissues, which is what you’re creating as a result of your workout or your weekend activity. The associated achy pain and stiffness that you feel is a sign that your body is in a repair state and that the rebuilding and regrowth process known as muscle hypertrophy is taking place.

What Type of Exercise Creates DOMS?

DOMS can result from any type of exercise and is generally at its peak intensity within the first 24 hours. However, eccentric or “negative” exercise is thought to crease delayed onset muscle soreness to a greater degree. During this type of exercise, the muscle is lengthening at the same time that it is contracting, creating increased tension on the muscle fibers. This process it thought to increase the soreness experienced after performing this type of exercise.

How Can Sore Muscles or DOMS be Relieved?

Gentle Stretching: Slow gentle stretching of the affected area can help to relieve sore muscles, joint stiffness and the tight feeling experienced in the muscles. Whether choosing a formalized yoga or Pilates class or just stretching on your own, gentle mobility work can help to relieve muscle soreness

Gentle Movement: Gentle repetitive mobility exercise such as low resistance cycling, aquatic exercise/swimming or simply going for a walk can all help p to relive muscular pain and stiffness. These gentle exercises help to improve blood flow to sore muscles and to decrease joint stiffness and relieve sore muscles. 

Re-Hydrate: Drink fluids to improve muscle hydration by drinking lots of water. Also try to avoid caffeine and alcohol as these can contribute to dehydration.

Warm Bath: Warm water will loosen up tight muscles, increase muscle relaxation, and improve circulation. Improved circulation brings oxygen rich blood to the affected muscles and can help to reduce pain and relieve sore muscles. 

Gentle Massage: Though it may be painful initially, gentle massage from a partner or using self-massage techniques can also help to improve mobility and local blood-flow. The use of a foam roller or self-massage device also helps to speed up the recovery from DOMS and relieve sore muscles. If you have trouble getting a partner to help out, click here for information on medical massage.

Increase Protein Intake: Increasing protein intake helps to supply the rebuilding muscle with the nutrients that it is craving for repair.

What if the Sore Muscles persists?

If extreme soreness persists for longer than the normal 24-72 hours following heavy physical activity, it may indicate a more serious problem. If you are experiencing these symptoms please follow up with your Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute healthcare provider. Your provider will be able to examine you further to rule out more serious problems or conditions. If you want to learn more about this subject, go to: Heat or cold for sore muscles. 

Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute Rehab can help with how to get rid of muscle pain in the shoulder or home remedies for sore feet. Give us a call 904-858-7045.  JOI Physicians and JOI Rehab offer Telemedicine New Appointments

By: Matt Paulus, MS, ATC

5 Workouts To Do When You’re Sore

You’ve committed to getting a little healthier and you’ve started an exercise programme. Yesterday you smashed your workout in the gym, but you could barely get out of bed this morning and now you’re walking around like John Wayne because you’re so sore. You may wonder if you should continue with your training today or just rest, but you’ve committed to workout goals and you really want to achieve them.
Don’t let your muscle soreness get you down! Here are 10 workouts you can do when you’re too achy to hit the gym again.

Why am I sore?

When you work out, the added effort of moving around and lifting weights puts stress on your muscles; the soreness you’re feeling today is called Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness (or DOMS for short) and it’s completely normal. DOMs is usually worst when exercising for the first time after a long break or a change in activity. It lasts around 24-48 hours after exercise (although can last longer), but the good news is the more you work out, the better your body will be equipped to handle it. Some people even like it as it lets them know they’ve had a good workout and their body is responding to training!

Want to treat your soreness? Try using a heat pad or have a warm bath to help ease the discomfort. Ice (if you’re brave enough) is actually better as it will reduce the swelling in your muscles – that’s why athletes have ice baths after a big event. If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge, a bag of ice cubes held over the area will work as well.
Feeling achy? Here’s how to recover quicker

What are the benefits of working out when sore?

Active recovery (working out when you’re sore) can help by stretching out sore muscles, but only if you’re gentle. If you genuinely feel that you are far too sore to work out, rest and use ice or heat to speed up recovery. Also, as temping as it can be to sit on the couch, you’ll seize up more from lack of movement so, although it’s going to be uncomfortable at first, doing some light movement will actually help you feel better and recover much quicker.

If you do feel up to a light workout, here’s what you can try:

The Workouts

1. Light cardio
Going for a gentle walk or slow cycle helps to improve circulation, increase blood flow to your sore muscles. Blood carries the nutrients and oxygen that your muscles need to repair and the faster these nutrients get to the muscles, the faster they can get to work (and you’ll feel better much quicker).

2. Bodyweight exercises

f you feel able to do a little more then just walk or cycle you can do some light exercises (and we really do mean light!). Lay off the weights all together and choose some simple bodyweight exercises like lunges, the plank and push-ups. These are all great for increasing blood flow and help you stretch your fatigued body. If you do want to use weights, make sure you go super light, and use weights that at 25% – 50% of the weight you would usually opt for.

3. Yoga

Rolling out a mat and flowing through some yoga can really help to alleviate the discomfort of your sore muscles.

Yoga combines deep breathing with slow stretching which will give your muscles the added boost of blood and oxygen; you’ll get to enjoy the blissful feeling of relief from the aches and pains as you gently stretch into each pose.

4. Swimming

Enjoying a gentle swim is a great way to help your muscles relax from your workout. You’ll be able to have a good stretch and the water will help to gently massage out any knots. Make sure you do a variety of stokes to really target the whole body and stretch out all the muscle groups.

5. Resistance band exercises

se a few lightweight resistance bands to really stretch those muscles. Resistance bands are particularly useful to lengthen the muscle groups that are hard to get to, like the chest, back and triceps.

 

Here’s a few extra tips to help:

 

• Drink lots of water to stay hydrated
• Get lots of rest
• Eat plenty of lean protein
• Get a massage (or use a massage ball or tennis ball to rub out the knots yourself)
• Keep moving so you don’t seize up
• Make sure you stretch and cool down properly after each workout

All of these workouts have the added benefit of improving your core strength and posture too. Our modern lives often cause us to have stiff necks and shoulder pain as a result of our desk-bound jobs and constantly adding stress to our necks from looking down at our phones. Find out how to fix the aches and pains of poor posture with this:
 
[Ultimate guide to perfect posture]

90,000 Muscles ache after exercise — What to do? How to relieve pain?

Physical activity is beneficial for the body – this is a proven fact that does not cause doubts. The end of each workout brings not only a sense of self-satisfaction, but also muscle soreness. It can be completely different. Both pleasant fatigue and aching pain can be felt, which prevents the muscle tissues from completely contracting. To understand why this happens, you need to familiarize yourself in more detail with how loads act on the muscles.By understanding the onset of pain after exercise, you can minimize and muffle this not always pleasant sensation.
Most often, beginners and athletes experience strong painful sensations after a long pause in training or changing from one program to another. Everyone wants to stop experiencing aching pain, but this consequences can be avoided only when there is a clear idea of ​​why pain appears at all.

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 arises 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 muscle tissue.

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

It occurs 6-8 hours after exercise and reaches a maximum in 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 muscle microdamages 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.

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.It is not necessary: ​​
to immediately start heavy exercises, skipping the warm-up;

continue to exercise on simulators, experiencing any inconvenience;
take on unbearable weight in strength training;
during training to ignore the appearance of crunching or clicks in the joints;

To reduce pain, you must resort to the following methods:

• Massage. It allows you to disperse the blood throughout the body, to ensure the flow of nutrients to the desired areas.
• Restorative occupation. This type of workout involves applying 50% of normal working weights with 15-20 repetitions per set, which gives blood flow to the muscles. They receive nutrients and recover faster. The point of such exercises is not only to reduce pain, but also to repeat the technique of movements, honing your skills.
• Hitch. Stretching the muscles increases blood flow, which increases and accelerates the process of removing damaged cells, and, consequently, reduces pain.
• Proper nutrition. The diet must necessarily contain a lot of protein, the amount of which ranges from 2 to 2.5 g per 1 kg of its own weight. BCAAs should be taken to prevent catabolism and get simple amino acids. This also applies to glutamine, which also strengthens the immune system, which helps to accelerate the full recovery of the body. Taking creatine can increase the endurance and strength of muscle tissues by increasing the concentration of creatine phosphate.
• Have a good rest. If there are pains that interfere with exercising, you should take a break for 2-5 days. This will allow you to fully recover and start exercising with renewed vigor.

Along with these methods, you can resort to hardening, visiting a bath, sauna, using a warming ointment, and so on. These methods lead to improved blood circulation in damaged structures, which allows the muscles to recover much faster.

Can I train when my muscles are still sore after a previous training session?

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.

How to relieve muscle pain after exercise: expert recommendations?

In order for the body to be in good physical shape, it requires regular exercise. However, training, especially for beginners, is accompanied by muscle soreness. It also appears in venerable athletes during intense training.

Post-workout pain is one of the reasons beginner athletes refuse to go to the gym.There are those who consider pain a sign of exercise efficiency and muscle growth. However, experts are of the opinion that its appearance indicates a violation of the exercise technique.

Causes of muscle pain after exercise

During the first exercise, 2 types of muscle pain are observed:

• arising during training;
• arising from the most difficult repetitions of exercises.

In the first case, the onset of pain is associated with the decomposition of adenosine triphosphoric acid (ATP) in muscle tissue and blood. As a result, the blood becomes acidic, and a burning sensation arises, which quickly passes.

In the second case, the pain occurs 6–8 hours after training and intensifies, reaching a maximum after 14–20 hours. It is caused by unusual or excessive physical activity due to microscopic damage or rupture of muscle fibers.

Attention! If there are many injuries, then the growth of muscle tissue slows down. The reason is that amino acids are required to build muscle. However, with injuries, they are consumed to heal the injuries.

Severe pain

The above two types of pain are natural. Particular attention should be paid to severe, aching pain that is a consequence of trauma and appears during or the next day after training. It intensifies from any exertion, and with sudden movements it can become unbearable.

Signs of such an injury are:

• redness;
• general malaise;

90,041 tissue edema;

90,041 bruising;

How to avoid?

The main cause of injury in the gym is negligence. You can avoid them if you follow the rules:

• Always start a workout with a warm-up;
• Stop exercising on simulators if pain and discomfort is felt;
• when strength training, choose a feasible weight;
• Stop exercising if cracking or clicking sound occurs in the joints.

How to get rid of natural post-workout pain?

The first type of pain associated with physical activity can be eliminated by repeating the exercise that caused it with a more gentle load. This will release muscle stiffness and induce increased blood flow to the muscles.

Attention! Pain in the muscles of the legs and lower body can be relieved by doing cardio exercises. You can get rid of discomfort in the muscles of the upper body by doing yoga or doing bodyweight exercises.

How to eliminate pain caused by micro-muscle injuries?

To remove pain of this nature, more drastic measures are required:

• Transition to proper nutrition. After intense exertion, the muscles require amino acids and glycogen, which are present in proteins and carbohydrates. You should also drink at least 2 liters of water to prevent dehydration and help flush out toxins from your body.
• A good sleep.Muscle recovery requires at least 8 hours of sleep a day. This will allow you to recuperate and prepare for new workouts.
• Massage. Even a short procedure will help release muscle clamps and relieve pain.
• Hot treatments. A hot bath or sauna session dilates the blood vessels, improving blood flow to the muscles.

How to prevent muscle soreness after exercise?

The recommendations are quite simple:

• Do not overload the muscles;
• start a workout with a warm-up and end it with stretches and light exercises, in which all muscle groups will be involved;
• Do not train over pain, as such training is not effective for gaining muscle mass.

In the latter case, you should not completely refuse to visit the gym, you just need to reduce the load.

90,000 What to do if leg muscles hurt after training and how to relax them?

Date of publication: 04.02.2019

Many people think that after a workout, muscles must be sore. This supposedly suggests that we worked hard to keep our bodies in good shape.However, prolonged muscle pain can be a sign of injury and can be very disruptive to your daily life. What to do if strong painful sensations are felt in the leg muscles? How to get rid of this? Let’s turn to experts on how to quickly recover from exercise and relieve pain.

Why there is pain after sports

The discomfort that we feel 24 or more hours after exercise is called DOMS, or delayed muscle pain syndrome.And this syndrome is the result of damage to muscle fibers caused by too intense exercise. Tiny breaks signal the immune system to release white blood cells to begin the repair process. White blood cells secrete chemicals and enzymes that doctors believe are responsible for muscle pain. And this pain is a normal reaction of the body trying to restore and strengthen tissues. It appears not because of lactic acid, as is commonly believed, but because of microcracks in muscle fibers that arise after intense sports.

Experts advise: Before embarking on an intensive program with lots of eccentric exercises with active muscle contraction, you need to do several approaches with exercises such as descending stairs.

Natural relief from muscle pain in the legs

We offer specific tips that you can listen to to reduce exercise-induced pain.

• Rest. In the event of temporary pain, without severe swelling in the injured area, resting will help prevent further injury to the legs. Allow your body to take time out. Taking a short break from your workouts will help you recover your muscles and joints faster.
• Apply ice and then heat. For the first 72 hours after training, ice packs can be used to soothe leg muscle pain. In addition, ice creates local vasoconstriction (constriction of blood vessels), reducing capillary permeability, which works well for injuries and bruises.Later, apply heat to the spasmodic area to warm up the muscles before exercising.
• Stretch the leg muscles for a few minutes. Stretch before and after your workout.

• Drink plenty of water. It will help moisturize the body, relieve fatigue and relieve pain in the leg muscles. In fact, during exercise, our cells release a lot of water, which can lead to dehydration, fever, and inflammation.

• Make a protein shake . After exercising, it is recommended to drink a protein shake. Ideally, within an hour after training. This will allow you to recuperate faster. You can also use special amino acid supplements that provide the body with the necessary building blocks.

• Warm up before class. Performing 12-15 repetitions with light weight will warm up the muscles and prepare them for sports training, as well as prevent sprains, which can be very painful and will not allow you to train for a long time in the gym.

• Massage . Massaging sore muscles with warming ointments is a great way to get rid of aches and cramps in the legs, back, and shoulders. Gels and creams are applied directly to the skin and contain medicinal ingredients such as menthol, methyl salicylate and capsaicin.These topical ointments reduce the risk of side effects associated with some oral medications, but can only be applied to intact skin that is free of irritation or inflammation.

• Warm bath is another great remedy for aching muscles. A warm shower can also help relax tight and painful areas of the body.

What else can you do

Reckless use of pre-workout pain relievers should be avoided to prevent muscle soreness.They can mask the symptoms of underlying musculoskeletal injury, eventually leading to excessive muscle strain.

After significant physical exertion, mild discomfort is usually felt, which should go away within 3 days. However, if you feel severe enough pain during exercise, and they do not go away within a week, it’s time to seek medical help from a traumatologist, surgeon or neurologist. It is important to find the cause of chronic muscle pain, as constant spasm and swelling can lead to long-term tissue damage.A qualified professional should be consulted for the correct diagnosis and effective treatment.

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90,000 Post-workout massage, benefits, technology, recommendations

After attending a workout, regardless of whether you are a professional athlete or exercise several times a week, fatigue and stress build up in the body.Intense physical activity in the gym will tone the muscles and normalize the metabolism, but at the same time, you may feel discomfort and pain in the soft tissues. The reason is the accumulated metabolic products and lactic acid, which are released into the body as a result of active sports.

To effectively get rid of the presence of negative substances, you need to properly structure your workout. Professional trainers of the “Premier-Sport” fitness club will help you with this, as well as sports massage procedures.

Benefits of massage after training

Excess lactic acid or lactate is removed from the muscles, causing micro-trauma to the tissues. This, in turn, causes pain in athletes, giving them discomfort. Overstrained muscle fibers are in hypertonicity for several hours after exercise, which also causes discomfort.

Sports massage helps to relieve tension, improve the supply of blood and oxygen to tissues.Experts recommend holding sessions no later than 3 hours after training – it is during this period of time that the tissues are most susceptible to physical effects. As a result:

• overextended muscles relax;
• lymph flow and metabolic processes in the body are accelerated, venous outflow is enhanced;
• due to the active delivery of oxygen and nutrients, the feeling of internal fatigue and stiffness disappears;
• pain syndrome is relieved;
• is the prevention of adhesions and fibrosis resulting from sports microtraumas;
• , the sites of possible injuries are identified.

In general, cell regeneration, blood circulation and the delivery of nutrients to organs and tissues are improved. Massage helps to relax after an intense workout, get rid of muscle soreness, and speed up recovery processes.

If your goal is to lose weight, a combination of fitness and massage will allow you to get a positive result in the optimal time frame. In this case, a modeling massage procedure is recommended, lasting from 45 minutes. The skin will tighten, the silhouette will take on a sporty shape, the manifestations of cellulite and stretch marks will disappear.

In order for your body to tone up faster, it is enough to perform massage procedures for 30 minutes. In this case, wellness, lymphatic drainage, relaxing massages are suitable.

How to massage muscles after training

Muscles are the most vulnerable during intense physical activity, and the risk of injury is high.Therefore, it is recommended to devote the post-workout period to restorative procedures, in particular, massage.

Techniques that allow you to relax and calm your muscles after intense work are simple enough and can deliver a lot of pleasure. It is recommended to contact a masseur within 2-3 hours after training, but no later than 12 before the start of a new one.

• The main task at the beginning of the procedure is to relieve tension from the muscles that have received the maximum load during the exercise.The masseur begins to perform light pressing movements from the part of the limb closest to the body;
• special attention is paid to the areas where the lymph nodes are located. Manipulations are also performed here without strong pressure, freeing tissue from stagnation. After that, the liquid is evenly distributed throughout the body by stroking and rubbing;
• patting with your palms or fist allows you to activate blood flow in the affected area;
• with the help of kneading, the specialist grabs the muscle with his fingers, gradually moving to the deeper ones;
• complete the procedure with light stroking from the bottom up until the muscles of the limbs and core are completely relaxed.

After massage procedures, the body’s recovery is much faster and more effective, training stress is completely removed. Pain and dyspnea disappear, and tissues are supplied with oxygen much more efficiently.

In addition to physiological aspects, well-being significantly improves, vigor and a surge of strength are felt. At the same time, the elasticity of muscle fibers increases, and the mobility of the joints is maintained at a high level.

The specialists of the “Premier-Sport” fitness club are fluent in massage techniques – choose your preferred procedure and come to us at the address: JSC, South-West Administrative District, st.Olof palme, 5 (near the metro station “University, Pionerskaya, Victory Park, Bagrationovskaya, Fili).

90,000 How to train when your muscles hurt • inTrends

When it comes to maintaining the intensity of your training schedule during periods of muscle soreness, your strategy should be based on knowledge and experience.

If you work out in the gym, sore muscles can become an extremely painful and almost constant part of your daily routine. Taking their rightful place in the annals of sports history, sore muscles signal to a man that he earned them through hard work.

Believe it or not, a high percentage of greetings between guys at the gym begins with public statements like:

“Man, I did some killer leg sets yesterday. Now I can hardly walk. ”

and,

“I’m going to skip the deadline tonight. Yesterday’s explosive arm lift workout turned my biceps to jelly. ”

or

“Bro, I haven’t slept. My last workout of my back in rags tore my lats, and my bed is too hard. “

Telling your training partners that your muscles are aching is like posing for a social media post after a successful fishing with a big trophy. Football players point to Heaven and scream at the top of their lungs after a goal has been scored.

Athletes, in turn, flaunt the fact that they have undergone rigorous training, describing the painful condition of the muscle. This raises the bar for achievement in the mind and in the gym.

Why do muscles hurt?

For some men, this question is obvious.You lift more weight than you used to, and your body begins to ache until it recovers. In general, this is correct. However, not entirely true.

Muscle soreness is a good indicator that the muscles are stimulated to grow, but this is not the only indicator.

When you lift heavy weights, the muscle fibers are filled with blood. This contributes to their “pumping”. When this happens, the fascia (connective tissue) around the muscle stretches and releases minerals and other compounds.The process leads to a complete disruption of the functioning of the area.

Soreness is a warning sensation that the body is in a hurry to put everything together. Muscle recovery varies in terms of pain and stiffness, but also results in larger, stronger fibers.

Most men who regularly go to the gym believe that soreness is always a sign of a successful workout. Unfortunately, soreness can be caused by several other reasons, and not all of them are positive.

• Exercising a muscle too often will result in its inability to store nutrients. Recovery times that are too short cause the muscles to remain in a state of destruction. This is transmitted to the brain in the form of physical soreness.
• Dehydration and poor nutrition, including lack of minerals and BCAAs, will only prepare your muscles for failure. The lack of nutrient stores will lead to the fact that they will be in a constant state of recovery and all this will result in severe pain after exercise.
• Persistent weakness in a muscle group manifests as pain. Sometimes, to prevent soreness, you need to pay attention to areas of the body that are less prepared for growth.
• The initial signs of common ailments can sometimes indicate how the muscles are feeling. Some muscle aches are not caused by exercise. They come from the fact that the body finds the most accessible biological mechanism, indicating that it is fighting a disease such as a cold or flu.
• Signs of something more serious, such as nervous and immune disorders, often appear as persistent muscle pain. If you experience soreness in a specific part of your body for several weeks without even working on it in the gym, this could be a sign that something else is happening in your body. Always consult a doctor if prolonged muscle soreness interferes with important aspects of your lifestyle.

Remember, soreness means that normal muscle function has been impaired in some way.It looks a bit like a bruise. The bruise is painful to touch, and it is colored, which is a sign of a neglected recovery process.

Normally you don’t expose the bruised area to normal use, but you also don’t stop activity in general. Naturally, sooner or later you will get used to adjusting the movements until the bruise disappears.

It is the same with muscle soreness. The hallmark of a true athlete is the ability to adapt to and work with injuries. Muscle soreness is a very temporary and localized injury that must be approached strategically.

Work with muscle soreness

When asked about proper muscle training, Mr. Universe, Lee Haney once said, “Stimulate, don’t destroy!” While this does not necessarily mean insufficient muscle stress, it does mean that no one should be in a constant state of pain all the time.

All lifters young, old, experienced and novice must allow their body to regenerate.

Change frequency

There’s nothing wrong with changing your weekly workout plan to work with sore muscles.Don’t always agree with statements like Monday is the universal chest workout day. If one muscle group needs extra time to recover, change the days that those muscles work. A few extra days of healing will be the best option for future extraordinary workouts.

Reduce load

If the soreness is caused by very hard training, switch to a lighter regimen. It is a proven principle of “shocking” muscles, beneficial for gaining muscle mass, and also serves as an effective regimen focused on activity in the fight against localized disease.

Lift at different angles

Sometimes the whole muscle group seems to be in pain. For experienced lifters, bodybuilders, and pampers, a change in work methods is needed to cope with pain. Try different exercises. Many muscle groups have multiple biological regions. Focus on another section while others rebuild. Instead of a regular bench press, try a series of chest extensions that target perfectly healthy and strong chest muscles.

Review exercise technique

Severe muscle soreness may be due to ballistic exercises. When a muscle group hurts, take a few days for a more controlled and concentrated series of movements. Reduce the pace of your reps. Even with muscle soreness, slow movement helps prevent further fiber damage. They also prepare the muscles to adapt more quickly once the pain subsides.

Keep painful areas stretched and warm

Painful muscles tend to be reduced in size. This is contrary to the increase in muscle mass. Any muscle that is sore should be stretched several times throughout the day. A stretched muscle regenerates more naturally and becomes much stronger.

Use hot and cold therapy

Muscle pain can be caused by several different types of fiber breaks.A good microscopic break promotes growth. A bad break only leads to permanent problems. Contrast baths, alternating cold packs and hot compresses, and regular warmth can help your muscles relieve pain faster.

Control the amount of liquid

No muscle can recover from a tear caused by heavy lifting without enough water. Water fills muscle cells but also delivers nutrients such as minerals, electrolytes, and BCAAs to growing tissues.A person recovering from any type of muscle pain should drink at least 63 ml of water per kilogram of body weight every day.

Regular massage

Vigorous sports massage helps to stretch muscles during intense activity. High-level lifters understand the importance of muscle palpation when it comes to recruiting total tissue.

Massage for painful muscles promotes blood flow, delivery of nutrients and relief of symptoms of severe pain.

Boost your mindfulness in the gym

It is entirely possible to continue with your daily exercise schedule when any part of your body is in severe pain. The key to solving the problem of soreness is a high degree of mindfulness when performing normal exercises. As you do sets and reps, constantly pay attention to how the muscle groups work for each individual exercise.

If the muscle group in pain becomes overly involved, make the necessary mental adjustments to ensure safety.In short, if your back hurts incredibly, do a great sled leg workout instead of the standard barbell squat. Be smart about allowing your body to heal with each cycle of soreness recovery.

In conclusion

If you do work out in the gym, you should expect some degree of muscle soreness. Lifting weights is a sure way to growth and physical aesthetic improvement. When soreness becomes a problem, never be afraid to temporarily postpone a tight workout schedule.At the very least, change it to ensure proper body recovery.

Muscle pain the day after a hard workout is a wonderful feeling, but constant soreness can be a serious health and wellness problem.

Take time to understand how your body heals, and don’t be afraid to change your habits to ensure a safe and complete recovery.

90,000 Muscles ache after exercise – what to do, why, how to get rid of, how to reduce, pain ointment

Is muscle pain good or bad?

Now many sports fanatics and just fans of regular light sports believe that the more pain the body experiences after training, the more productive, better and more effective it was.The vast majority of training athletes strive to bring themselves to a state of muscle pain and pass this approach on as a recommendation to beginners.

The well-known beneficial qualities of painful sensations really motivate many beginners to overcome the initial rejection of strenuous training, and the endorphins produced in the body over time outweigh any overexertion in importance. Others, on the contrary, cannot overcome the fear of possible injuries and choose too ineffective lightweight training regimes for themselves or give up classes altogether.

However, the choice of opinion about the state of the body should be based not on some well-established opinion, but on careful analytics and personal sensations of the body, because the pain is different … Depending on how long the pain sensations are, after which they arise and how intensely it is felt, the pain can be considered a companion of intense muscle development or the onset of injury. Let’s figure out what types of pain are and how to relate to each of them.

Why do muscles hurt after the first workout?

It’s okay to experience pain after your first workout! If you have not provided your body with decent physical activity for a long time, then at first it will definitely experience stress.

The human body gets used to functioning in a certain mode, which is based on your lifestyle. When you start exercising, the body, accustomed to being in a more relaxed state, reacts very violently. He seems to be trying to return you to your usual rhythm, showing that training is difficult, unpleasant and generally unbearable. However, over time, the human body gets used to the fact that it has to experience regular healthy stress, and gradually begins to adapt, reducing the degree of soreness.

The pain itself occurs due to the fact that small micro tears appear in the muscles, which are filled with lactic acid. However, remember that muscle tissue itself does not experience pain, pain is a reaction of the nervous system. That is, the tips of the nerve fibers indicate the presence of damage in the muscle tissue and activate a kind of “signaling”. Regular exercise hardens and strengthens the nervous system, making it more resistant to stressful factors. Your body begins to understand that such minor injuries are the norm, after which the response system is rebuilt, increasing your strength, endurance (and, by the way, daily mental performance).

Therefore, the first lessons should be treated more like warm-up-adaptive ones. Do not overload your body: it is better to approach training in stages and not lose enthusiasm than to “kill” yourself in the first lesson and completely unsettle. After about 1-2 weeks, you can revise the approach towards increasing productivity.

Why do muscles hurt after exercise?

With regular physical activity, the body can experience several types of pain. Each of these species has its own characteristics and somehow (positively or negatively) affects the body.Let’s consider the main types in order to highlight those that are beneficial and eliminate those that can unnecessarily harm.

1. Lactic acid.

Pain can occur directly during exercise. This is a normal companion process that often occurs during intense exercise.

During intense, dynamic workouts, muscle tissue may experience oxygen deprivation. To compensate for the lack of oxygen saturation, the body begins to raise stocks using certain processes, the end product of which is lactic acid.Lactic acid enters the muscles and feeds their work, it is quickly washed off and enters the bloodstream, from which it is soon completely washed out.

However, if too much acid is produced, it may not have time to be washed away by the blood stream. Then a certain amount of acid is retained in the muscles and clings to the nerve fibers passing nearby, which causes a pulling, viscous pain. This pain passes quickly enough, lactic acid does not stay in the body for more than 30 minutes, and it is even less in the muscles.

This is a common process that demonstrates the productivity of a workout. There is nothing wrong with such pains. To reduce their intensity, you need to exercise more in the fresh air, establish full, calm and deep breathing during exercise and alternate tension and stretching. All methods that improve oxygen metabolism in tissues will help here.

2. Microbreaks.

This is the most common and most beneficial type of pain. To understand its effect, consider the processes that occur in the body during exercise.

During intensive training, microscopic tears occur inside the muscle fibers due to the transferred load, which would be impossible to see with our own eyes. These micro-tears are damage to the structure of the muscle tissue. Cells exfoliated during rupture enter the bloodstream, where they are filtered and excreted from the body, and muscle fibers are restored in a larger volume, the length of the muscle fibers increases, due to which the muscle itself grows.

Usually pain from micro-tears begins a few hours after training and is popularly called “krepotura”.This is a good sign of stimulating muscle growth. Over time, the body’s sensitivity decreases and the reaction to micro-ruptures ceases to be so painful, and in some, the nervous system adapts so much that the appearance of crepure may disappear altogether.

Micro-tears heal in about 2-3 days. It is this feature that makes many trainers think over trainings so that classes are for different muscle groups.

3. Injuries.

Pain from old injuries or from parts of the body that accumulate the potential for injury is a harmful type of pain.It can be stimulated by old, not completely healed sprains, joint disorders, muscle ruptures and other troubles.

In serious manifestations, this type of pain cannot be confused with the previous ones: it is sharp, bright, and may be accompanied by swelling, redness and swelling in the irritated area. If such problems arise, you urgently need to stop giving stress to the area of ​​irritation and consult a specialist.

How long does muscle pain last

Standard muscle pain can last 1-4 days, during which time the body has time to fully recover.The longer the experience of playing sports, the shorter the duration of pain after training. If the pain lasts more than this period, then it is worth rethinking the cause of its occurrence and, possibly, checking the affected area.

Why the muscles do not hurt after training

After a while, the muscles adapt to stress. If the pains from exercise have completely disappeared, then your body has become much more resilient and no longer irritates so much from exercise. Several options are possible here:

• You perform the same load for a long time.Perhaps the load needs to be strengthened or the exercises themselves need to be made more difficult.
• You are good at following the recommendations that help reduce the risk of pain (hitch, showers, ointments, etc.).
• Your body is strong enough not to react with pain, even with sufficient training intensity.

Combination of variants is also possible. There is nothing wrong with the absence of painful sensations, they are not an absolute indicator of correct muscle growth. It is necessary to monitor the result, and not be guided by the quality of the crêpe.

How To Reduce Muscle Pain After Exercise: Preliminary Steps

To reduce pain after exercise, there are a few questions to consider before starting:

• Use a warm up. Good warm-up exercises before starting a workout will help prepare your muscles for the intense intensity that awaits them. Warming up will make the muscle tissue more elastic, resulting in less muscle damage and increased fiber recovery.
• Use a warming ointment.Here ointments containing menthol or eucalyptus are suitable. You can cover the smeared area with something warm (for example, leggings if you smeared your feet).
• Drink a glass of water and baking soda. You need a little soda: for a qualitative increase in the pain threshold, it is enough to add 1/2 spoon. Soda reduces acidity, which helps to avoid the usual burning sensation.
• Establish a quality, healthy diet. Many substances that enter the body along with harmful products weaken it and incorrectly exacerbate the sensitivity of the nerve endings.
• Drink enough water. Water flushes out many excess substances, so a sufficient amount of fluid must pass through the body per day.
• Take fatty acids. Fish oil, nuts, vegetable oils contain enough of them.

Applying these simple and obvious principles will not only help reduce pain, but will also improve your overall body condition and make you feel good.

How to get rid of pain after a power load?

Doing the right things during and after exercise can also help reduce soreness:

• Take flexibility breaks during your workout.This will allow the body to improve oxygen metabolism and general metabolism, which will support muscle recovery during exercise.
• Finish with a neat hitch. This item is required. Cooling down will help your muscles recover quickly. It should be performed in the form of a light, stress-free stretch. Sometimes the muscles are too overstrained and literally “harden”, in which case you need to do light exercises (walking, warm-up exercises) and improve breathing, after 10 minutes of relaxation, the muscles will move away and you can start high-quality stretching.
• Contrast shower, warm shower, warm bath. All of these options are great for helping you relax and improve your post-workout condition. A contrast shower creates an additional stress factor, but after it the body relaxes perfectly and comes in tone at the same time. A bath can be ideal for girls, especially if you add delicious herbal teas to it.
• Take ascorbic acid after exercise.

How to get rid of pain in the muscles of the legs

To reduce pain in the legs, you can make a warm bath for them upon arrival after training.Soak well and warm your feet in hot water, then grease with any warming ointment and wrap in a warm blanket. This will increase blood circulation and speed up recovery.

Afterword

Muscle pain is an integral part of quality training. It is easy to reduce them with a quality and thoughtful approach to training activities. And how do you reduce the risks of dizziness? Unsubscribe in the comments!

How to get rid of DOMS after exercise: 5 best remedies

Diseases after exercise can put you out of action for days.Of course, you can wait a few days and everything will go away by itself. And you can significantly speed up the process and get rid of muscle pain much faster. So how to get rid of post-workout muscle soreness with the 5 best remedies for muscle soreness – read on.

What is DOMS

So, DOMS is muscle pain that leads to decreased mobility. Typically, you experience soreness after exercise or any strenuous physical activity.

Muscle pain can range from mild to severe (loss of strength and even some swelling).

Generally, most people begin to experience the effects of exercise about eight hours after intense exercise or physical activity.

Soreness usually peaks 24 to 48 hours after exercise. According to the UK’s National Health Service, sore throat usually lasts an average of three to five days. Although the sharp pain diminishes after the first few days.

Dramatization is caused by microscopic damage to muscle fibers when you change the exercise regimen or increase its duration or intensity.

It is often mistakenly believed that DOMS is caused by a build-up of lactic acid. But in reality, she does not participate in this process.

Usually, beginners are most likely to experience DOMS. However, even an experienced athlete can feel dizzy after changing the training program. The pain will decrease as the muscles get used to the new exercise and physical activity.

Thus, DOMS is part of the adaptation process, which leads to an increase in the physical qualities of the muscles in the process of their recovery after training.

How to get rid of a muscle soreness after training

1. Active recovery

Perhaps the last thing you want to do when you feel a muscle soreness is to move. However, active recovery can be one of the most effective tools for reducing muscle pain.

Gentle exercise that can help stretch sore muscles can also relieve pain by keeping them moving. Even going for a walk or going up has a positive effect.

So starting an active recovery can be painful. However, after a few minutes as your muscles warm up, you usually start to feel better.

One way to avoid muscle soreness is to cool down after each workout. Finish your workouts with 10 minutes of light cardio and then do dynamic stretching.

2. Hot Bath

A long hot bath after active recovery is a great way to increase blood flow to your muscles.It is also a good option for rest and recovery.

3. Drink plenty of water

There is no doubt that a lack of electrolytes contributes to muscle soreness. Therefore, you need to make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day.

As you know, about 82% of the blood volume is actually water, so hydration is much more important and more effective than just quenching your thirst.

One of the simplest ways to stay hydrated is to keep the water bottle with you at all times, even during exercise.So after each completed set or every five minutes of cardio workout, you should take a sip of water.

However, try to avoid drinks high in sugar, salt and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.