Understanding Exercise Soreness

The hardest part of sticking to a workout routine may be starting it, but the second-hardest part is figuring out what to do when it’s time for another workout when you’re still sore from the first one.

Source: lifehacker.com

Normal exercise soreness, also known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), is a common phenomenon that occurs when you do something different than what you’re used to. It’s not lactic acid, as many people believe, but rather a natural response to muscle stress.

Recognizing the Signs of DOMS

Before we discuss what to do, let’s take a minute to understand how you’re feeling right now, and why. Here are the key signs of DOMS:

• Hurts the most when you wake up in the morning or when you’ve been sitting still for a while
• Feels better with movement
• Hurts when you use the muscle and when you stretch the muscle
• Usually starts the day after exercise (rather than the same day), and may last multiple days
• Is often at its worst two days after the exercise that caused it

It’s essential to note that there are medical conditions that can also cause muscle soreness, such as rhabdomyolysis, which is muscle damage that gets severe enough to cause muscle breakdown and kidney issues. If you experience dark-colored urine or any other concerning symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.

Relieving Soreness

So, what can you do to relieve soreness from exercise? Here are some tips:

• Do some ‘active rest’ or gentle movement when you’re sore. This can include going for a walk, using a spin bike, or practicing gentle yoga.
• Take a warm bath or visit the sauna when you’re sore from exercise. Heat tends to make sore muscles feel better, so this is a great time to hit the sauna or take a hot bath.
• Give yourself a muscle massage. Gentle pressure can feel good on sore muscles, so consider treating yourself to a massage or asking someone to give you a back rub. A foam roller is a good way to give yourself some ‘self-myofascial release,’ or consider a massage gun.
• Eat well and sleep well. When you’re sore, it’s good time to pay more attention to taking care of yourself. Anecdotally, I find sleep helps to deal with soreness: If I stay up late, I’m more likely to be sore the next day. Eating plenty of protein can’t hurt, either, since protein is important to building muscle. And carbs are important for recovery and fueling, so I wouldn’t skimp on those either.

What Not to Do When You’re Sore from Exercise

Myths abound, so I want to call out a few specific things that you’re better off not doing:

• Intense stretching. Gentle movement is fine, but deep or painful stretches can cause muscle damage and make soreness worse.
• Ice or cold plunges (maybe). This one is a bit controversial, but there is evidence that ice baths interfere with the healing process, and probably aren’t a good idea to do routinely.
• Taking ibuprofen if you don’t really need it. If you need a pain reliever to get through the day, it’s fine to take one. But if you get into the habit of taking ibuprofen regularly—like after every workout—it can hinder your recovery.
• Don’t skip your workout. When you’re feeling sore, you’re probably tempted to just stay home with some Netflix instead of taking your achy body back to the gym. But resting doesn’t help much in the long run. Beating the soreness for good comes from getting used to exercise, and you’ll never get used to it if you have to take a week off every time you get the idea to start again.

So, go back to the gym, or head out for another run, or whatever is on your schedule for today. Make some effort to continue the schedule that you set up for yourself, whether that was a written program or a promise to yourself that you’d go to the gym a certain number of times per week.