What, when, how and other questions/answers about MUSCLE SORENESS (DOMS)

If you ever tried exercising and either pushed yourself to your limits or exercised after a long period of avoiding exercise, you are familiar with the fact that your muscles went rogue on you after. Maybe you had troubles lifting a glass or brushing your teeth and maybe every step you took was incredibly painful. This happened because of DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness.

Yes it can. It really can happen to anyone, from professional athletes to us regular people and even children. It is good to be educated about this issue and know what to do when it happens to you or someone you know. I hope this post helps you to learn everything you need in order to deal with this problem that happens more often than you realize.

As some of you know, I started running almost two weeks ago and up to now everything was going fine. For the last two days, I was not able to run, I was not even able to walk. Why? Because my legs refused cooperation and hurt like hell. I went for a run in the forest on an uphill terrain. I thought I was ready for it but guess what, I was not. Lesson learned. After my muscles get better I will stick to flat terrain from now on.

Many people think that delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by lactic acid. That is not true. When we exercise, our cells naturally become more acidic which makes our muscles feel like they're burning but that is not because of lactate. Lactate is a by-product of the metabolic process and it slows down the rate at which the cells become acidic.

So, lactate is actually a good thing, do not blame it for everything. DOMS is the result of microtrauma in the muscles and surrounding connective tissues. That trauma causes inflammation. DOMS occurs 6 to 8 hours after exercise. It is at its peak around 24 to 48 hours after training and it lasts between 3 and 5 days.

Nothing lasts forever and neither does DOMS. There are ways you can help yourself deal with the pain until it goes away but the best answer to your troubles is to give them time and accept that your body will heal itself.

Do not think that when you get extra fit how DOMS will be behind you forever. It won't. Even people who have been exercising for years can develop DOMS. You will feel less pain as your body adapts to your workouts but if you change your exercise routine or increase the duration or intensity chances are that DOMS will be back and it will be back with a vengeance. Since part of exercising is increasing duration or intensity, will we ever be free od DOMS? No, not really. That is why everyone can get it but it does have something to with your genes too because not all are affected by it the same way. You can avoid it by not doing drastic changes in your exercise plan and change your workout gradually.

Muscle damage can be a bad thing but it can also be a good thing too. It all depends if you are dealing with a serious injury or just DOMS. DOMS is not a serious injury, it does hurt a lot but it actually has some good side effects. Our muscles can grow in 3 different ways; tension, stress or damage. Yes, it does say damage. DOMS is not the only way you can build muscles and you do not have to have it in order to be more fit but it is one way to do it. A painful way but still a way.

When muscles repair themselves, they get larger and stronger than before and a certain amount of muscle trauma is needed to stimulate growth. Our body wants to heal itself all the time and when we experience DOMS, our muscles "want" to get bigger so they do not experience that pain again. This is why when you once get DOMS from a certain duration or intensity, you will not get it again as long as you do not change something again.

There is absolutely no evidence that stretching will prevent DOMS but since stretching will prevent more serious injuries you should ALWAYS stretch before and after an exercise. The only way to prevent DOMS is to gradually change your activity. Allow your muscles time to adapt to new movements and regime and avoid shocking your body.

Once you do get DOMS, there are ways for you to help yourself. The best thing, of course, is to rest but painkillers help too LOL. You can also get a massage or use hot-cold treatments on areas that hurt. Be careful and know when to see a doctor. If your pain does not go away after 5 days, becomes constant (if you are at rest there is no DOMS) and you feel it even when you are still and doing nothing or your urine becomes dark and you experience heavy swelling of muscles SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE.