Exercising Doesn't Have to Hurt! Dealing with Muscle Soreness

Anyone who has exercised or participated in physical activity likely has experienced soreness associated with these activities at one point. Colloquially, “soreness” may be rather vague and used to describe a variety of sensations and conditions. So the physical fitness and medical fields use the term delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) to describe the residual muscular pain or discomfort following unusual or excessive muscle use. As the name indicates, the soreness usually sets in anywhere from 1-5 days after exercise.

DOMS is a manifestation of micro-damage to muscle cells that can occur during activities requiring repeated or intense muscle contractions. Eccentric muscle contractions – the types of contractions that use a muscle’s strength while the muscle is being lengthened – are associated with the highest amount of DOMS following the activity. Eccentric muscle contractions occur when the muscle is controlling the movement of a weight or object (sometimes this weight is simply the weight of a body part). This is the type of muscle contraction that occurs in the biceps during the lowering phase of an arm curl.

When a muscle is experiencing DOMS, using the muscle is uncomfortable (or even painful) and the muscle feels weaker and has lower endurance than normal. Nearly all muscles in the body are susceptible to experiencing DOMS, which means that nearly every possible motion could be difficult or painful due to the muscular soreness – even breathing or getting out of bed can hurt! After the discomfort caused by DOMS subsides, the weakness may actually persist. This is important to recognize if you are participating in physical activity during this time since overexerting a pre-weakened muscle may lead to compensatory movement patterns (which can lead to injury) or to another round of DOMS.

Feel Better

If you are experiencing DOMS, there is not much that you can do to end the discomfort and weakness any sooner. However, you can certainly take steps to lessen your symptoms and reduce how much the DOMS interferes with your life.

Some rest can help, but sitting around not doing anything will cause your muscles to feel tight, which will make using them again even more uncomfortable. Counter-intuitively, doing light exercise that uses the muscles that are sore will actually help the muscles feel better. When you’re experiencing DOMS, completing a comprehensive warm-up that targets all of your sore muscles (in addition to any other muscles that you will be using during your exercise) is critical.

Other things that may help reduce the intensity of your symptoms include:

• Ice: bath, massage, bag, etc.
• Stretch: light, gentle stretching before and after activities
• Hydrate!*
• Eat well!*
• Avoid being in positions that rest your sore muscle in a shortened position (this can be hard if your whole body is sore, but do your best to keep your sorest muscles from being in a shortened position for a long period – including when you’re sleeping; it will make it less painful for you to lengthen that muscle the next time you go to use it)
• Massage: This needs to be a light massage (a “feel-good” massage). Do not do any other types of massage, as these may increase the cellular damage to the muscle cells, extending the length of your DOMS.

*Hydrating and eating well equip your body with the tools it needs to repair your muscle damage as efficiently as possible.

Prevent It Next Time

The best way to deal with DOMS is to avoid getting it altogether – and if you’ve ever experienced it, you likely want to do everything in your power to avoid experiencing it again!

Prevent the muscle damage that causes DOMS by structuring your workouts and physical activities to progress gradually into starting or re-starting activities, especially when these activities include eccentric muscle contractions (jumping, going down stairs, running down hills, etc.).

DOMS is more likely to occur (and occurs more frequently) in individuals who have low levels of physical conditioning. Avoid DOMS by maintaining your physical fitness through cross-training.