Oh, the Pain!!
Pain, Sprains, Injuries, and breaks. Basic terminology for people who play any kind of sport. Even Bowling, you can injure yourself. But seriously, injuries are a PAIN.
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness
You’ve woken up to sore muscles, you’re afraid you’re not going to be able to walk, or you’ll be walking funny all day. Your legs hurt, your abs are tight, your shoulders feel like someone is riding on them, and your back is telling you to lay down on something hard and flat. If it’s not sharp pain but just that dull throb, what you have is called Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness or D.O.M.S.
D.O.M.S usually occurs if you are just starting a workout program, change activities, go further, or increase your weights. It’s your body’s way of adapting to greater stresses and will eventually help you build greater stamina. Just because it’s common doesn’t mean that it’s not annoying. Here is some more information on D.O.M.S and some things you can do to prevent it, get over it and keep it from happening again!
DOMS is micro tears in your muscles which help in increasing muscle mass and strength. All of our strength training and stamina principles are based on the muscles tearing and repairing. Micro tears in your muscles force the muscle to strengthen itself, and thus you get stronger because your muscle is stronger.
How to prevent muscle soreness
How to prevent muscle soreness is simple, ensure you do a 5-10 minute good warm up with lots of stretching. Start your exercises moderately, if you’re working on squats for instance start with a lighter weight and move up after about 2 sets, just to get your muscles warmed up. In between sets of the exercise stretch some more and post work out do a good 10–15-minute cool down and stretch. Did I mention that you should stretch? The warmup will get your muscles the blood they need to perform. The cool down will help flush the lactic acid and keep the blood flowing through the muscles and joints. The stretching will help do the flushing of the lactic acid and also help the blood to get into places where the muscle may have cramped or knotted. Stretching your muscles when they are warm will increase your chances of avoiding D.O.M.S. What if you woke up with D.O.M.S?
Home Remedies
There are lots of home remedies for it, basically if you can get the muscles warmed up again and stretch then that is the best way. Taking a hot bath sometimes works especially for legs. Gentle stretching and massaging can be extremely helpful. Don’t do anything vigorous until the soreness has subsided. However, that does not mean that you shouldn’t exercise. Moderate exercise is beneficial to getting blood to your muscles to help repair them. Yoga can be beneficial, due to its stretching nature. If you feel as though you need some extra help in the form of medicine, try a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory to help take some of the pain as well to decrease the inflammation in the muscles. Another method is of course ice. Some athletes swear by the ice treatment, and it is very effective to decrease swelling in the muscles, Cold also has a soothing effect on painfully inflamed muscles. Heat has a soothing effect on sore muscles so others will swear by the heat treatment. D.O.M.S usually takes about 3-7 days to completely dissipate, so be patient and know that at the end of it you’ll be stronger, and then learn from your mistakes and stretch.
Final Thoughts
Did I mention you should stretch? Avoiding D.O.M.S is simple, Rule #1 Warm up and Stretch. Rule #2 slow increases gives your muscles time to adapt. Rule #3 cool down well and Stretch. Rule #4 Stretch some more.