Oh My Aching Muscles!

I was talking to a co-worker last week about her new fitness regimen and she kept talking about how she needed exercises for her hamstrings because her quads were on fire and she wanted to work other muscles in her legs.  I gave her some ideas of hamstring exercises, of course.  More importantly, though, I told her why her quads felt that way and how to help alleviate the pain.  I decided that there are probably more than a few of you out there that either don’t know why this pain occurs or think you know why but perhaps don’t know the real reason.  In fact, I’ve been known to give the incorrect answer in the past so I wouldn’t fault you if you did as well. 

As any of us who have started a new fitness program can attest to, the muscles that have been worked typically don’t really start to hurt until two days after the workout.  Some people feel the pain 24 hours post-workout but for the majority it’s usually 48 hours post.  This is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).  DOMS is said to be the result of microtrauma (or microscopic tears) to the muscles and that microtrauma is caused by eccentric exercises/muscle action.  Eccentric means that the muscle is lengthened while force (weight) is applied ie: lowering action of the bicep curls, dead lifts and running.  The pain or soreness that you feel during and/or immediately after exercise is different that DOMS and is called acute muscle soreness.  With DOMS, the muscle is adapting to prevent future damage if the exercise is repeated.  Many people (myself included) used to think that this pain was due to lactic acid but it has been proven that lactic acid is not involved in this process. 

Can you prevent DOMS from occurring when you start a new fitness program?  Absolutely, though it’s not 100% preventable.  If you start your fitness regimen with lighter weights, you are less likely to cause those damaging microtraumas.  Start light and gradually increase the weight amount.  This is the best way to prevent DOMS. 

Because it’s the eccentric contraction that causes these tears, you can avoid trauma by focusing solely on concentric and isometric contractions.  However, it is often difficult to avoid these contractions during normal exercise and eccentric contractions are important to a well-balanced workout.  Stretching does not reduce the likelihood of DOMS as it is the force applied to a lengthened muscle that causes the tear and stretching does not typically include force. 

So you have DOMS but how can you help alleviate the pain?  There are several schools of thought on this but many just mask the pain.  The only sure-fire cure for DOMS pain is time.  Time for the muscle to recover and health those microscopic tears and adjust to the new demands being placed on it.  However, things like massage, hot tubs, stretching and the like will help reduce the pain.  It is important to note, though, that reduction in pain does not mean the muscles are recovering.  Again, the only thing that helps muscles recover is time.  Unfortunately, there’s not really a way around that fact. 

In short, make sure you are challenging yourself but not doing serious damage.  It’s a thin line and often you don’t realize what is “too much” until it’s too late.  If you do overdo it, I promise the pain will go away and you WILL be able to walk normal or grip a pen within a couple days!

BE BOLD! BE YOU!