You have just had a great exercise session and are feeling great; but a day or two later you feel muscle pain and soreness. Maybe when this happens at the beginning of a new exercise program, after a change in sports activities, or after a marked increase in the duration or intensity of exercise. You could be suffering from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
This soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion; although annoying, it is an adaptive process that inspires greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build. The soreness is generally at its worst within the first two days after the activity, and subsides over the next few days.
For example, a beginning exerciser who runs 20 miles, followed by a session of push-ups and sit-ups, will likely experience muscle pain and soreness in the next 48 hours.
Delayed onset muscle soreness occurs hours after the completion of the exercise, and differs from the acute pain of muscle strains and sprains that comes in the form of abrupt, specific and sudden pain that happens during activity and often causes swelling or bruising.
Delayed onset muscle results from microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on the intensity, duration and category of exercise.
Any physical activity you aren't used to doing can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it lengthens) seem to prompt the maximum degree of pain. Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include going down stairs, running downhill, lowering weights and the downward motion of squats and push-ups. Swelling also may occur.
Gentle stretching often is recommended as a means of reducing exercise-related muscle pains, but is not recommended by all researchers. As always, prevention is the true key to fighting DOMS; people should warm up thoroughly before they exercise and cool down afterward, start new physical activities gradually, avoid lifting heavy weights right away or making sudden changes in the amount of time they exercise, or even hire a physical trainer to plan and monitor effective workouts.
Once soreness does occur, the patient usually need only wait three to seven days for soreness to subside; avoid any vigorous activity that increases pain; perform low-impact aerobic exercise to increase blood flow; gentle stretching and massage; take a dose of aspirin or ibuprofen; do Yoga or vigorous exercise.
If pain persists for more than a week, see a doctor.
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