Posted on July 04, 2013 by Jenny Cromack

Delayed onset of muscle soreness or DOMS refers to the pain and stiffness experienced in the muscles 24-72 hours after training. Generally its caused by the eccentric action of an exercise (this is when the muscle lengthens under contraction). DOMS is the resulting symptom of exercise induced muscle damage.

It is typically characterised as a dull aching pain with stiffness and tenderness. At rest it shouldn’t really be felt, the real pain occurs when you apply pressure to it or stretch the effected muscle. The pain is thought to be the result of mechanical damage on a very small scale to the muscle being exercised.

Although all the personal trainers at Motive8 North Love DOMS here are a few do’s and don’ts to help get you through the pain!

DO

• Increase blood flow to the effected area– This can be achieved by simply going to see a sports massage therapist or completing some low intensity cardiovascular work such as walking or swimming. Bathing in hot water has also been shown to improve blood flow.

• Get your nutrition sorted – You’re not going to recover quickly on hot dogs and bags of crisps, opt for good proteins sources packed with good fats, oily fish like salmon is always a good choice. Check out our recipes page http://www.m8north.co.uk/community/recipes/ . Meals high in magnesium will really help too

• Get plenty of sleep– The most effective recovery doesn’t occur when you’re walking around after the gym session. It happens when you’r ein bed asleep dreaming about your next workout.

• Learn to love them– They wont kill you they’re just uncomfortable!

DO NOT

• Get ice baths– although the research is mixed the negative effects of bathing in cold water such as elevated cortisol levels far outweigh any pain relief that may be achieved.

• Forget to stretch– Don’t go mad with aggressive stretching techniques as these will likely cause more DOMS, opt for light stretching combined with some low intensity cardio