Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Exercising and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed onset muscle soreness which is also known as DOMS affects alot of people who work out from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. I am sure many of you have woken up the morning after a hard workout and wondered why your body is so sore and hard to move. This is DOMS and even though it hurts alot it is a good thing. DOMS is very common after exercise and it means that you are working your muscles and getting them stronger. DOMS can occur anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after exercise.
What can you do to help the pain and soreness?
Rest, ice, NSAIDs, massage, heat, and stretch can all help in making you feel better.
Now it is important for you the avid exerciser or athlete to remember that even though you are sore and hurting that it is important to not give up. Yes, you are sore and in pain but sometimes you have to fight through it until your body adapts to the stresses that you put on it. It is important to be careful and if your soreness is affecting your activities of daily living then you should back off and allow your body to get some rest. I found and very interesting and informative article on Web MD which further explains delayed onset muscle soreness in more detail. Here is the website:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/sore-muscles-keep-exercising?page=3

As an athlete myself I get delayed onset muscle soreness alot. I get it even in the middle of the season and sometimes it does not feel good at all. I hate it when you have a hard practice and the next morning you wake up you feel achy and sore. It is a pretty bad feeling, especially when you know that later that day you have to go to practice. To help me feel better all throughout the season I usually take NSAIDs and jump into the cold whirlpool and few times a week and even on a daily basis. It seems to help refresh my legs and make me feel alot better the next day. I know alot of you may not have access to a cold whirlpool, but I bet just putting some ice on the sore spots for about 20 minutes and taking some NSAIDs will help you feel alot better the next day. Overall, DOMS is not a fun experience, but just think about how the soreness you feel is going to pay off in the long run. DOMS lets you know that you are working your body hard and overall improving your fitness.
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2 comments:

  1. James MazzapicaMarch 6, 2009 at 6:25 AM

    DOMS does occur an often lot in sports with hard practices and stuff, but if your just one who exercises or strength trains, I've found that a lot of stretching, I'm talking 5-10 minutes of good solid stretches helps out a ton. After a nice long session of running or lifting, get on that floor and stretch your muscles to the limit to avoid the muscle soreness the next day.

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  2. Eric FoleyMarch 9, 2009 at 5:41 PM

    I am very familar with DOMS and I agree that is very annoying even after you are on a regular workout program. Even though I feel sore, it makes me feel good because I know that I am working hard and my body is feeling the results. I agree with Katie about how hard it is to force yourself to workout while suffering from DOMS but it is important because it helps you get stronger. Sometimes if the DOMS is bad enough I put muscle rub on before I go to the gym and it helps me with the pain.

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