Have you ever wondered why your muscles are more sore after exercise? It might be due to DOMS or the Delayed onset of muscle soreness. DOMS is the pain or tenderness many of us experience after participating in exercise. Typically it affects novice or inexperienced exercisers and usually lasts anywhere from 24-72 hours. The pain can be attributed to lactic acid, muscular damage, connective tissue damage, muscle spasm and inflammation.
Whilst there is no way to cure the condition immediately there are several things you can do to relieve the soreness and aid your recovery. Massage is one therapy that has been shown to positively reduce symptoms of pain associated with DOMS.
Other treatments include:
- Applying ice to the area to decrease inflammation
- Resting the muscles so they have time to heal before attempting the same routine again
- Applying heat to increase blood flow to the affected area
- Active recovery such as doing an easy low-impact aerobic exercise to increase blood flow to your muscles
- Using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
- Stretching your muscles
