If you ever tried exercising and either pushed yourself to your limits or exercised after a long period of avoiding exercise, you are familiar with the fact that your muscles went rogue on you after. Maybe you had troubles lifting a glass or brushing your teeth and maybe every step you took was incredibly painful. This happened because of DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness.
It can happen to anyone
Yes it can. It really can happen to anyone, from professional athletes to us regular people and even children. It is good to be educated about this issue and know what to do when it happens to you or someone you know. I hope this post helps you to learn everything you need in order to deal with this problem that happens more often than you realize.
As some of you know, I started running almost two weeks ago and up to now everything was going fine. For the last two days, I was not able to run, I was not even able to walk. Why? Because my legs refused cooperation and hurt like hell. I went for a run in the forest on an uphill terrain. I thought I was ready for it but guess what, I was not. Lesson learned. After my muscles get better I will stick to flat terrain from now on.
Many people think that delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by lactic acid. That is not true. When we exercise, our cells naturally become more acidic which makes our muscles feel like they're burning but that is not because of lactate. Lactate is a by-product of the metabolic process and it slows down the rate at which the cells become acidic.
So, lactate is actually a good thing, do not blame it for everything. DOMS is the result of microtrauma in the muscles and surrounding connective tissues. That trauma causes inflammation. DOMS occurs 6 to 8 hours after exercise. It is at its peak around 24 to 48 hours after training and it lasts between 3 and 5 days.
Be patient,
the pain will go away.
Nothing lasts forever and neither does DOMS. There are ways you can help yourself deal with the pain until it goes away but the best answer to your troubles is to give them time and accept that your body will heal itself.
Do not think that when you get extra fit how DOMS will be behind you forever. It won't. Even people who have been exercising for years can develop DOMS. You will feel less pain as your body adapts to your workouts but if you change your exercise routine or increase the duration or intensity chances are that DOMS will be back and it will be back with a vengeance. Since part of exercising is increasing duration or intensity, will we ever be free od DOMS? No, not really. That is why everyone can get it but it does have something to with your genes too because not all are affected by it the same way. You can avoid it by not doing drastic changes in your exercise plan and change your workout gradually.
Muscle damage can be a bad thing but it can also be a good thing too. It all depends if you are dealing with a serious injury or just DOMS. DOMS is not a serious injury, it does hurt a lot but it actually has some good side effects. Our muscles can grow in 3 different ways; tension, stress or damage. Yes, it does say damage. DOMS is not the only way you can build muscles and you do not have to have it in order to be more fit but it is one way to do it. A painful way but still a way.
When muscles repair themselves, they get larger and stronger than before and a certain amount of muscle trauma is needed to stimulate growth. Our body wants to heal itself all the time and when we experience DOMS, our muscles "want" to get bigger so they do not experience that pain again. This is why when you once get DOMS from a certain duration or intensity, you will not get it again as long as you do not change something again.
There is absolutely no evidence that stretching will prevent DOMS but since stretching will prevent more serious injuries you should ALWAYS stretch before and after an exercise. The only way to prevent DOMS is to gradually change your activity. Allow your muscles time to adapt to new movements and regime and avoid shocking your body.
Once you do get DOMS, there are ways for you to help yourself. The best thing, of course, is to rest but painkillers help too LOL. You can also get a massage or use hot-cold treatments on areas that hurt. Be careful and know when to see a doctor. If your pain does not go away after 5 days, becomes constant (if you are at rest there is no DOMS) and you feel it even when you are still and doing nothing or your urine becomes dark and you experience heavy swelling of muscles SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE.
Until next time,
KEEP YOUR SMILE ON
&
ENJOY YOUR EXERCISE!
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- clipart in my titles is from pngtree.com and royality free, you can check it out here
- arm with muscles is from fitness-science and you can find it here
- man with leg pain is from mobiefit.com and you can find it here
- Keep calm image is from crossfitlatina and you can find it here
- stretching woman is from pixabay and you can see it here
- clipart in my titles is from pngtree.com and royality free, you can check it out here
- arm with muscles is from fitness-science and you can find it here
- man with leg pain is from mobiefit.com and you can find it here
- Keep calm image is from crossfitlatina and you can find it here
- stretching woman is from pixabay and you can see it here
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The first Marathon runner collapsed and died on the spot. Has anyone considered that this little fact may be trying to tell you something?
lololol, maybe... maybe... :D
she who likes to run with the currently broken arm feels your pain. literally. magnesium helps A LOT. soak in a bath or footbath with magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) for 20 mins ... spray on magnesium chloride. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see you running & active! :) nice post!
I love magnesium, it really does help, not all the time but often. Thank you for your support and encouragement 💚
After my first marathon, the next day I could hardly move; took weeks to get back to normal...
You took a marathon? More than one? I am bowing right now, literary bowing. You have my respect! 💚
It took me ten long weeks to prepare for it and I came in 347 out of 2500 so not too bad; I also had a finishers kiss from a nice girl too, which my wife didn't like much, but I did...
Nice information, thanks for sharing.... I don't do exercise because I can't stand the pain after it, lol.
The pain goes away, it always does :D
Hahaha.... You're right tho
if u want to make an omelette you godda break some eggs .. lol.. Enjoy the running!
Yup, that is true :D Thank you 💚
Cheers for sharing this, gently, gently getting back into moving these amazing bodies 💚
Always gently, our bodies really do not handle change very good :)
Oh i know the feeling. It is helpful to know why though. Thanks for the info.
I am glad you found it interesting 💚
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It does hurt, not that much but it is far better without it. It takes time to get rid of the tension as well ( like... never lol) , the best results ( well, for reshaping anyways) is to exercise hard every second day for some time ( but stretch every day is the best) and after a while you will be without some major cramps. I am sure you are doing splendid and that the results are already visible.
Well, results are still not visible because my body hates me :D If I exercise for ten days I get nothing in return but if I eat one piece of chocolate, I can see it materializing at my butt. Genes... I hate my genes :D
I Have bene through that pain back when I was training a lot but never knew about it thanks for this informative post
It was my pleasure to write it, I am glad you enjoyed it 💚
👍😎
AKA, me the first week after I started squatting. I knew what they were, but not what they felt like. Thanks for the physiological insights, too.
I am happy you enjoyed the read, thank you for your lovely comment 💚
Nice, I love short and spot on information. I found for myself that stretching is a must after every workout because my muscles are less sore and I feel rejuvenated..but of course DOMS are unavoidable and I like them. They are reminder that I am actually working out. 😂
Yeah, I tell myself that too but I hate when I can not move and miss an exercise because of DOMS :)
I don't think I've ever gotten muscle pain that was that delayed. Mine usually starts the next day, then gets worse on the second day, then lessons by the third. However, more recently I've had persistent muscle pain, particularly on one side of my back that I overextended. It is worse in the morning and better after I stretch out, but never goes away. Not sure what's up with that.
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You should probably see a doctor or get a medical massage for that, I hope it works out 💚
It always happens when I get back from vacation and start exercising again, usually only lasts for 1 or 2 days luckily. I don't really mind the soreness too much, it's part of staying fit :)
1 or 2 days is great, your genetics are on your side, lucky you! :)
Excellent advice. I don't usually feel pain after hillwalking because I do it so often, but when I do get those after-exercise aches, it usually happens in the late afternoon the day after.
I hadn't heard of DOMS before, but it makes sense. I love indoor climbing and bouldering, but I do 20 mins of yoga stretches before each session, using YouTube yoga routines targeted at climbers. I started doing this shortly after I started climbing regularly because I realised that I was yanking my body into positions it hadn't been in for decades!
Yoga is great before and after, I totally agree. Enjoy your climbing! 💚
Thanks!
Interesting information, I really learnt alot... probably should have taken biology a bit more seriously in the past! My method of avoiding DOMS is to not exercise!
:D :D :D Well, that is definitely one of the best ways to avoid DOMS :)
Hello!! Thank you for your interesting post, well, I used to do exercises and intense pain only presented it when I introduced more demanding routines, but now it costs me so much to even return to the possibility of exercising at least 15 minutes. I am totally sedentary, I know that it is not good, and I would like to find a way to do it, I am also full between work and studies. That in some way is the excuse.
It is an excuse but I understand you, I was the same way. The only reason why I am exercising is because I want to eat like normal people. My genetics are against me and if I do not want to eat like a bird, I have to exercise, otherways I would be huge :D When you do start exercising, go slow. I started by taking a 30 minute walk every day, that is good enough for beginners. Yoga, walking and dancing.
Great post @zen-art
Now I now why I ache more 2 days after football or a long bike ride than the next day. Getting older doesn't help either!
I've started to try and ice down after a big session, especially my calf muscles which are a troublesome area at the mo.
Thanks for posting.
Gaz
Calf muscles are my biggest problem, I hope they will learn to play along soon :) Thank you for your lovely comment 💚
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Thank you 💚💚💚
this is very informative! im impatient and have a habit of pushing myself too far and only exercising once a week as a result...I've been told by another runner that glutamine sometimes helps with the soreness in addition to stretching, but idk if it tackles DOMS specifically, or if it's just a placebo in general? Thoughts?
I did hear about it but never tried it, never even thought about trying it. For now, I am suffering and waiting to be better when it hurts lol and it always does. Thank you for your lovely comment 💚