Never mind the muscle pain that happens while cranking out reps (or even immediately afterward); what about the severe sore muscles that pop up a bit later? Known as DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, this condition can be very painful and limit your range of motion, and you might consider never working out again in order to avoid it.
Thankfully, you can deal with the pain brought on by DOMS using several tried-and-true methods. Read on to learn more from the experts at MyFitFoods!
What Exactly Is DOMS?
It’s normal to have some small muscle aches and pains mid-exercise routine. These are a sign that your workout is doing its job. However, when you start to hurt several hours to several days after your workout, you more than likely have DOMS. This is a sign that your workout was a bit too much, too soon. It’s an extreme type of soreness that you won’t soon forget.
DOMS can appear between eight and 12 hours after your workout, and it tends to peak within 24 to 48 hours afterward. This means that you’ll feel pretty stiff and sore for several days after you’ve pushed yourself too hard. With that said, the length of time that it takes for DOMS to disappear depends on genetics, as well as how you treat the symptoms.
What Are the Symptoms of DOMS?
Speaking of symptoms, there are several that typically appear as a result of DOMS. They include:
- Stiffness – Your joints may feel stiff and sore. This is particularly true of your elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles, especially if you spent some time working out your legs and arms. However, you may also feel stiffness in your back if you did any core exercises.
- Soreness – You might feel sore all over. In addition, whichever parts of your body received the brunt of your workout may be the sorest when compared to the other parts.
- Aching Joints – Not only could your joints feel stiff, but they might also ache when you try to move them, or even if you’re just sitting there, trying to take it easy. This is usually more than a slight ache. With DOMS, it’s more of a very painful ache.
- Swelling – Although you may not have swollen muscles and joints every time that you overwork your body and end up with DOMS, in extreme cases, you may notice some minor swelling.
Causes of DOMS
Previously, it was thought that lactic acid buildup in the muscles during a workout caused DOMS symptoms post-workout. However, this is not the case at all. As it turns out, when you do a very intense workout, you create small tears in your muscles.
You create microscopic tears in your muscles during any workout, which helps build them up as they repair themselves, but DOMS is a bit more intense. Those damaged muscles cause a lot of inflammation, which leads to DOMS.
How To Avoid DOMS
Thankfully, you can avoid getting delayed onset muscle soreness simply by tapering up your workouts. Starting out too strong (for example, going from a sedentary lifestyle to doing a 5K without training for it) often leads to DOMS. However, if you take your time and slowly work up to that distance, then you won’t feel this extreme pain afterward.
In addition, studies have shown that eccentric movements andresistance training often end up causing DOMS. These movements are anything unusual that your muscles simply don’t do naturally, like running downhill. By avoiding eccentric movements, or at least going easy on them, you can avoid this type of injury to your muscles.
Remember that you aren’t supposed to be in a ton of pain after a workout. A little pain (good pain, as they call it) is fine, but you shouldn’t end up with DOMS after every single workout. This is a sign that your exercises are too intense. You can have very little pain and still see those gains happen.
Additional Tips for Beating DOMS
If you’re still dealing with DOMS, try practicing the following habits before, during, and after your workouts.
How To Deal With DOMS Pain
No matter how hard you try, you may end up with DOMS at some point. It can’t be helped, and you could accidentally work out too hard without meaning to. Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do to help relieve yourself of the pain.
Here are some suggestions.
Get Moving
You might be tempted to never move again, thanks to how bad the pain feels. However, that would do more harm than good.
While you don’t want to overdo it again, like run a marathon while you’re dealing withDOMS, you should get up and move around. Doing some light exercises, such as walking at a regular pace around your house or doing a slow yoga session, can help alleviate some of the aches and pains.
With that said, if your pain is far too extreme and you really can’t even stand up without wincing, then your body is telling you to take a day off. Rest and recuperate for an entire day, and then start doing some light exercises the day after that. By then, you should be feeling better.
Eat a Meal That Contains Plenty of Protein
Did you know that specific foods, like those that contain a lot of protein, can help shorten the timespan in which you’re suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness?
There’s a reason why avid weightlifters eat a lot of protein: because it feeds the muscles, so it makes sense that protein can help you with DOMS. Consider adding extra protein to your lunch ordinner the day after your workout, along with plenty of healthy carbohydrates and some fat.
If you’re having a hard time incorporating protein into your diet, supplements can help. Some protein powders get you all the essential amino acids your body needs to repair its connective tissue and muscles.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration is key — if you’re dehydrated, your muscle groups won’t have as much power during a strength training session and you’re more likely to feel sore after a tough workout.
You should drink plenty of water and stay as hydrated as possible anyway, but if you’re dealing with DOMS, then you definitely need to keep an eye on your water intake. Becoming dehydrated may make the aches and pains worse, and drinking plenty of water can even speed up your recovery because your body will be able to focus on repairs and not worry about where your next sip of water is coming from.
Get a Massage
Massages not only help you feel better by forcing you to relax your muscles and take care of any knots or other issues, but they also can help increase blood flow and reduce inflammation. If you head to a masseuse after realizing that you have DOMS, you’ll be able to lower the swelling and make yourself feel better.
Massages can also help shorten the period in which you’d normally be suffering from DOMS, as well as alleviate the pain that you’re dealing with in the moment. You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel afterward.
Use a Foam Roller
You’ve more than likely heard of foam rollers. But do you own one? These handy tools allow you to essentially massage your own muscles, helping work out all of those kinks and small pains.
If you do some foam rolling on the areas of your body that you exercised too hard, you’ll be able to alleviate some of that pain and shorten your recovery time. Then, all that you need to do is not overdo it again.
Take Advantage of Ice and Heat
When you sprain a ligament in your ankle or wrist, the typical treatment is called RICE, which is short for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. All of this will help you with your DOMS pain, along with heat. Try taking a hot shower in order to get rid of any initial muscle pain.
If you’re still hurting later on in the day, pour some Epsom salts into a cold water bath and soak for a while. The combination will help. Finally, while it might be difficult to elevate your entire body, consider wearing some compression garments to help with the inflammation.
Take Rest Days
Resting post-exercise is one of the most important steps in avoiding an inflammatory response like DOMS. Alternate high-intensity exercises like squats or deadlifts with rest days for muscle recovery and light cardio the next day to give your muscle fibers a chance to repair and strengthen themselves.
Remember, working out causes muscle damage, which your body then works to repair. During this process, practice active recovery and take it slow. If you’re feeling the effects of DOMS, take a break from the gym and relax with a deep tissue massage or a hot bath.
Additional Tips
Now you know that DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, is a condition that pops up around eight to 12 hours after you overdid it in the gym. The aches, pains, stiffness, and more are caused by muscles that have been overused to the point of getting small tears, making them swell up and become inflamed as they try to heal.
Thankfully, you can avoid DOMS by tapering up your workouts slowly. If you end up with DOMS, there are a number of tactics that you can use in order to alleviate the pain and shorten your recovery period.
Have any questions about DOMS or anything else? Pleasecontact us!
Sources:
Delayed onset muscle soreness: treatment strategies and performance factors | NCBI
What Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and What Can You Do About It? | Healthline
What Is DOMS? Plus, Effective Ways To Prevent And Relieve Aches And Pains | Coach Magazine