Well we’ve all seen the funny internet pictures regarding the days after exercise. You know that feeling in your muscles you get after a workout? It may not be straight after, it could be the next day or even 2 or 3 days later. That’s DOMS: the Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness. So what is it and why do we get it?
DOMS can occur when your muscles have been subjected to unfamiliar or intense physical activity. The soreness is most common in those starting a new exercise regime, but is not exclusive to them. Even top athletes can succumb to DOMS, if they train particularly harder than usual. One proven discovery is that DOMS are caused more so by eccentric contractions than concentric contractions (Eccentric: the lengthening of the muscle. Concentric: the shortening of the muscle). As well as muscle pain, DOMS make your muscles weaker than usual so training with DOMS could prove problematic.
Many trainers will account DOMS to the microtrauma in the muscle that occurs when exercising. The theory goes that this microtrauma, or microscopic tears in connective tissue, causes inflammation which sensitises nociceptors and elevates the sensation of pain. However, there is no hard science that points to an exact cause. For the purpose of this article, we can keep it extremely basic and say that DOMS are caused by mechanical or metabolical stresses.
So what can you do to stop DOMS?
Some people may argue they get benefits from methods such as icing or stretching etc., but these benefits could be due to psychological reasons. Psychological influences can help greatly at pain reduction. For my dissertation I researched the ‘placebo effect’ in sport and returned quite conclusive evidence that a placebo can be extremely effective at reducing pain. Although only reported to ‘work’ in 30-50% of people, placebos have a place is pain reduction, so if a treatment method works for you and is safe, keep doing it!
Do you have any tips for stopping DOMS? Reply in the comments below!
I use Epsom salts in a hot bath following a hard run….. works for me.
A nice hot bath can definitely be relaxing! I’m all about the foam rolling myself!