Introduction
If you’re an athlete or one who exercises diligently, sooner or later you will experience mild discomfort in terms of muscle soreness and stiffness or debilitating muscle pain. Medically, this term is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and is often felt between 24 to 72 hours after exercising, after which it gradually wears off within two to three days.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness – A Closer Look
So, why does DOMS occur after exercise?
For one, there are different reasons that are responsible for DOMS to occur, but so far, this part of exercise science has a lot of grey areas… a single explanation for its occurrence hasn’t universally been accepted yet. But one thing is for sure, muscle contraction plays a large role in the development of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
So, let’s look at an explanation as to why Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness occurs.
If you are aware of the rudiments of any strength training program, you’ll also be aware that muscles when used in the method of exercise first break down to then build up again, a response to the training in question in order to reinforce itself, by growing larger and stronger than the last time. This process of muscle breakdown to build up is the process called muscular hypertrophy.
DOMS occurs during the reinforcement process, and is not caused due to the damaged muscle cells. Actually, while the muscles expand during the process of reinforcement, their enlarged size causes the pain.
Causes of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Since the reason for to DOMS to occur stems from the manner of muscular contraction which depends on the kind of exercise you do, and how long/ fast you do it too. Yet DOMS in most cases occur when you do exercises that are not like any normal movement that you are used to. The term used to describe these odd movements is eccentric muscular contraction and some examples of this phenomenon are running downhill, lowering weights, the downward motion of squats and push-ups.
Although, DOMS happens when exercises involving normal muscle movement are completed, it is said to be worse in the case of exercises that result eccentric muscular contractions.
The reason for this is because the muscle elongates while under tension due to an opposing force being greater than the force generated by the muscle, which can happen while you are trying to lift a weight that is much heavier than the muscle can bear, or while trying smooth out the motion of the weight that you are attempting to work out with.
Treatment for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
The funny thing is since scientists and health and fitness specialists haven’t been able to verify what the actual cause of DOMS is, no treatment has been determined either.
As always, the smartest way to deal with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is to avoid it. In cases where it is unavoidable, you just have to wait until the muscle pain/ soreness wears away, as it is deemed a natural process.
Another way which seems to have been proven to work is low-impact aerobic exercises which increase blood flow, and reduce the soreness/ pain as a result. Some athletes take an ice bath, which is known to be an effective way of soothing the pain (not eliminating it completely). Some people prefer taking pain killers which help in soothing the pain.
As prevention is the best method here, it is imperative to wait until the pain or soreness subsides completely before resuming your normal exercise routine, or else this will result in aggravating the muscle soreness leading to more pain, and in some cases muscle damage.
In Closing
It’s important to note that the body requires both concentric and eccentric muscular contraction in order to build muscle but the balance between the two have to be maintained so that one doesn’t have to go through extremes of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness which, according to some athletes, feels like every molecule of air is bashing into your skin.
