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[H1542]How To Relieve Muscle Soreness

by Nitin Chhoda, Nit

First, let's understand a little bit about exercise intensity. The intensity at which you exercise will determine what you get out of it. If your goal is to lose body fat, then you need to exercise at a different intensity compared to someone who trains to build muscle / tone up. More importantly, should you feel pain in your muscles the day after you exercise? What about the type of pain that is felt 2, or even days following exercise? The answers to these questions hold the key to help determine whether or not you get the right results from exercise

Unlike bones and joints, muscles have a profuse blood supply, and can regenerate and respond faster to the overload of exercise. Therefore, the goal of exercise should be to strengthen muscles (which can cause soreness) and not to overload bones and joints (which can cause pain and injuries). Typically, weight training causes soreness (which means muscles recover from the strain of the exercise and become stronger) and aerobic exercise like walking, cycling and swimming does not cause soreness (since the muscles are not strained to the same extent).

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SORENESS AND PAIN.

Soreness usually occurs the day after exercise, due to injury to the muscle fibers. Stored chemicals are released when the muscle is damaged, generating further pain. Thats why the soreness sometimes tends to get worse 1 to 3 days after a workout. This is a phenomenon called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).It usually happens if you try new exercises, or overstrain yourself lifting weights. It is completely normal.

Also, the pain of soreness is usually a dull, aching pain, in the muscles that were challenged. Generally, soreness is a feeling of mild discomfort and not necessarily pain. It is important to note that soreness subsides with rest. Here is the most important part - Over a period of time, the same exercise causes less and less soreness, as the muscles adapt to it. This means that it is important to change exercise every 3-4 weeks.

Pain, on the other hand, generally occurs after the exercise and tends to persist. As things get worse, some exercises begin to hurt. You might find that you start avoiding certain movements altogether. Every fitness enthusiast should recognize pain, and avoid training inspite of pain . This is a common mistake, which invariably leads to injuries. Unlike soreness, pain gets progressively worse if it is ignored. Do not be tough and try to work through it.

PAIN PREVENTION PLAN -

Improper technique, equipment, and training are major causes of pain and consequently injury. When you feel pain, use RICE (instead of paying the price.)

RICE is an acronym for the following.

Rest.
Avoid any painful exercise for a short while. For example, avoid walking if you have an ankle sprain.

Ice.
Use an ice pack, crushed ice in a towel, to reduce swelling and pain. Do not use for more than 10-15 minutes. Post workout icing is effective in reducing soreness.

Compression.
Tie a crepe bandage / handkerchief around the injured part, firm but not too tight, to minimize swelling.

Elevation.
Keeping the body part elevated also helps to minimize swelling.

WARNING SIGNS.

Seek immediate diagnosis from a physician if the pain :-

Persists after 12 to 48 hours of ice and rest.
Is sharp and limits movement.
Is accompanied by numbness, weakness or swelling in the joint.
Pain indicates distress to the body - listen and take action. RICE or a timely trip to the doctor may lead to a few short days of rest. This is a lot better than getting hurt due to ignorance.

Good luck with these strategies! Go ahead and apply them. Do not allow aches and pains affect your gains!

Big mistake!

The next day my calves were so sore I could hardly walk! I was in agony!

Muscle soreness has been known to cause many new exercisers to discontinue exercising. And if I didn't know any better I would probably have given up. My muscle soreness was due to my stupidity and could have been avoided.

And, no, not by not exercising!

Some seasoned exercisers will experience muscle soreness "the day after" a different type of exercise or workout. They find muscles they never knew they had!

What is muscle soreness?

It's usually caused by an overload workout. It is the small tearing of muscle fibers, which cause the release of muscle cell content. The cell content attracts inflammatory cells, which release chemicals, that irritate nerve fibers and cause pain.

But "No Pain No Gain" right?

Wrong! Muscle soreness is NOT an indicator of a good workout. Muscle damage is often greatest in older or otherwise susceptible muscle fibers.

So, how do you ease muscle soreness?

Here are 8 ways:

1 - Massage Away The Muscle Soreness - Start slowly! Lightly massage the sore muscle and gradually increase the depth of the massage. It might be painful in the beginning but it will gradually ease the muscle soreness.

2 - Hot Bath The Muscle Soreness Away - Nothing beats a long soak in a hot bath for muscle soreness. The heat will increase circulation and provide a soothing effect.

3 - Flush The Muscle Soreness Away - Run hot (as hot as you can bear) water over the sore muscles for two minutes and then immediately switch to cold water for 30 seconds. Repeat this process five times. This has the effect of opening and closing your blood vessels which will flush the acid from your muscles and ease the soreness. It is easier to take a complete shower and do this, but it takes some courage!

4 - Gently Exercise The Muscle Soreness Away - Go for a slow walk and breathe deeply. This helps reduce the muscle soreness by increasing the blood flow to the sore muscles.

Now you know how to relieve your muscle soreness, I'll show you how to avoid the pain. It is easier and less painful to avoid muscle soreness. Here's how:

5 - Warm Up Before Your Work Out - Muscles are working parts and like any working parts they need to be warmed up before any demands are made on them. A warm up before your workout is essential to avoid muscle soreness, but more importantly to avoid injury. It starts the circulation to the muscles and warms the muscles and tendons, getting them ready for the next muscle soreness avoidance tip - stretching.

6 - Stretch Those Muscles - After your warm up your muscles need to be stretched. It's very easy to skip this step or do some hasty stretches, but you will pay for it the next day or with an injury. If you are going for a walk or jog you want to stretch your legs and back. If you are doing an upper body workout then you need to stretch your shoulders, neck and upper back. Don't bounce in the stretch and hold it for 15 to 20 seconds. Stretch each muscle just to where you begin to feel the stretch then maintain that position until you feel the muscle let go. Bouncing or trying to stretch too far will do more harm than good.

7 - Stretch After Your Workout - This is extremely important to avoid muscle soreness. After your walk, jog or workout, make sure you stretch your muscles for 15 to 20 seconds before they cool down. They will be warm and elastic so they will stretch well.

8 - Don't Be A Hero - Going out and training hard might feel great at the time, but when you wake up with stiff and sore muscles the next day you will be tempted to take the day off from exercise. You should start slowly, exercise within your capacity. Make the exercise enjoyable with moderate exertion and only increase the intensity by a maximum of 10% the week after week. This will allow your muscles time to adapt and prevent muscle soreness and injury.

The one BIG trick is "Don't do too much too quickly!"

Article Source : Pg. 33

About Author

Both Nitin Chhoda & Ian Mcconnell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Nitin Chhoda has sinced written about articles on various topics from Supplements, Recreation and Sports and Advertising Guide. Nitin is a personal trainer, columnist and lecturer, who recently appeared on Good Morning America. He offers training routines for women, diet plans, grocery lists and fitness books at. Nitin Chhoda's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.

Ian Mcconnell has sinced written about articles on various topics from DUI, Build Muscle and Home Based Business. Be The Envy Of Your Family And Friends As You Look And Feel 10 Years Younger. adds years to your life. We'll help you.FREE Details Here =>. Ian Mcconnell's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.