Do you feel sore after exercise? Here’s what science suggests helps (and what doesn’t)

Have you been to the gym again with the COVID restrictions loosened? Or go back to running, cycling or playing team sports?

As many of you may have experienced, the inevitable muscle soreness that comes after a break can be a difficult barrier to overcome.

Here’s what causes this muscle pain and how to best manage it.

What is muscle pain and why does it occur?

Some muscle aches after a workout are normal. But it can be debilitating and put you off from further exercise. The scientific term used to describe these pains is delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, which results from mechanical breakdown of muscle fibers, often called “microtears”.

This damage causes swelling and inflammation in the muscle fibers and the release of substances that sensitize the nerves within the muscle, producing pain when the muscle contracts or is stretched.

This pain usually peaks 24 to 72 hours after exercise. The type of exercise that causes the most muscle pain is “eccentric” exercise, which is where force is generated by the muscle as it stretches – think walking downhill or the lowering phase of a bicep curl. .

There is good news about this pain though. When the muscle cell recovers from this “microtrauma,” it becomes stronger and can produce that force again without the same damage occurring. So while this strengthening process is initially painful, it is essential that our body adapt to our new training regimen.

The inflammatory component of this process is necessary for the strengthening and adaptation of muscle tissue, so repeated use of anti-inflammatory drugs to manage associated pain could be detrimental to the training effect.

Will recovery gadgets get me out of my misery? Not necessarily

Before you even think about recovering from exercise, you must first remember to start slowly and progress gradually. The body adapts to the physical load, so if this was minimal during the block, the muscles, tendons and joints will need time to get used to resuming physical activity. And don’t forget to warm up by increasing your heart rate and getting your blood flowing to your muscles before each session, even if it’s a social touch footy game!

Read more: Are you going back to the gym? Here’s how to avoid injury after coronavirus isolation

Even if you start slowly, you may still be suffering from muscle pain and you may want to know how to reduce it. There are a lot of new gadgets and recovery technologies these days that claim to help. But the jury is still out on some of these methods.

Some studies show an advantage. Analyzes and reviews have been carried out on some of the most common recovery strategies including ice baths, massage, foam rollers, and compression garments. These reviews tend to support their use as effective short-term post-exercise recovery strategies.

So if you have the time or money, go for it! Make sure your ice baths aren’t too cold, somewhere around 10-15℃ for ten minutes is probably right.

And a word of caution about ice baths, don’t rely too much on them in the long run, especially if you are a strength athlete. Emerging research has shown that they can have a negative effect on muscles by smoothing out some of the repair and rebuilding processes after resistance training.

But the effectiveness of other recovery strategies remains unclear. Techniques like recovery boots or sleeves, floating tubs, and cryotherapy chambers are newer on the recovery scene. While there have been some promising results, more studies are needed before an accurate judgment can be made.

However, these recovery gadgets all seem to have one thing in common: they make you “feel” better. While research doesn’t always show physical benefits for these techniques or gadgets, often their use will result in perceived lower levels of muscle soreness, pain and fatigue.

Is it just a placebo effect? Maybe, but the placebo effect is still very powerful, so if you believe that a product will help you feel better, it probably will, at least to some degree.

The “big rocks” of the recovery

Some of the above techniques could be classified as “one percent” recovery. But to recover properly, we must focus on the “big rocks” of recovery. These include adequate sleep and optimal nutrition.

Sleep is one of the best recovery strategies we have, because this is where most of the muscle repair and recovery takes place. Ensuring a regular sleep routine and aiming for around eight hours of sleep per night is a good idea.

When it comes to nutrition, the exact strategy will vary from person to person and you should always seek nutritional advice from a qualified professional, but remember the three Rs:

• refuel (replace carbohydrates after exercise)

• rebuild (protein intake will help in muscle repair and rebuild)

• rehydrate (keep your fluid intake high, especially in these summer months!).

Enjoy your newfound freedom when returning to sports and exercise, but remember to focus on a slow return and make sure you eat and sleep healthily before spending your hard-earned cash on advertised recovery tools you may see using athletes on instagram.