Muscle blog series: Part 4: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS):
What is DOMS?
DOMS is a phenomenon of muscle
pain, muscle soreness or muscle stiffness that usually occurs one to two days after
exercise. Most commonly people get DOMS when they perform unaccustomed exercise
like beginning a new exercise program, changing their exercise routine, or increasing
the duration or intensity of their exercise routine. People also noticed DOMS
more when they have performed a lot of eccentric muscle work, this is when you
contract a muscle and are lengthening it at the same time, for example when
throwing a ball, the muscles of the shoulder blade and the muscles that attach
the shoulder blade to the spine are contracting to decelerate the arm/shoulder/shoulder
blade, so they are working hard but lengthening.
What causes DOMS?
There have been several theories
to explain what causes DOMS. Some have suggested a build up of lactate in the
muscle causing chemically induced pain but more likely it is microscopic
tearing of the muscle fibres. This would make more sense as eccentric training causes
the worst DOMS and when a muscle eccentrically contracts it is pretty much
pulled apart at a microscopic level.
So how do I prevent DOMS?
Well to lessen the severity or
chance of getting it you need to plan out your training so that it is
progressive in how it is advanced over the weeks. However DOMS isn't harmful and
some people actually feel like getting it means they have trained hard enough!
(Me included)
So what helps when you have it?
Stretching?
It appears not, based on the
evidence: Stretching before or after exercise doesn't produce clinically
important reductions in delayed-onset muscle soreness (Herbert et al 2011)
However I believe that if you
have DOMS then stretching does help, although the stretches are pretty
uncomfortable to do but you tend to feel better afterwards.
What else can help DOMS?
Often people find massage to be helpful and feel recovery is sped up and soreness reduced.
There was some evidence that
cold-water immersion reduces delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise
(Bleakley et al 2012)
But….
There was no evidence that
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helped people with DOMS (Bennett et al 2005)
So overall it’s nothing to worry
about and it will pass within several days. If it lasts longer or comes on as
you are exercising then it isn’t DOMS and it’s more likely to be a muscle
strain (See Muscle blog article part 2: Muscle injury)
Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle at the same time. Muscle pain can also involve the soft tissues that surround muscles. Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from physically demanding work. Get Professional pain management in NYC.
ReplyDeleteSuffering from muscle pain can be distressing and limit your ability to move freely. professional pain management in NYC is a unique and focused combination of skills that permits professional pain management in NYC experts to treat your muscles pain.
I really like your Blog. Thanks to Admin for Sharing such useful information. Addition to this here I am sharing One more similar Story Home Remedies for Sore Muscles pain relief instantly.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really helpful post, thanks for sharing. We have IASTM Tools for Sore Muscles that targets larger muscle groups like back, lats, chest, upper arms, upper and lower legs.
ReplyDelete