Muscle Soreness After Exercise: Understanding Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

By Bevan Chen

Muscle soreness after exercise, also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is a common response to physical activity. It often occurs after completing a new exercise program, increasing training intensity, or performing movements that the body is not used to.

DOMS can range from mild stiffness to significant muscle discomfort. For some people, even simple activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting dressed, sitting down, or standing up from a chair can become uncomfortable for a day or two after exercise.

Although this soreness can be frustrating, it is often a normal part of adapting to exercise.

What Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness usually develops several hours after exercise rather than immediately.

Symptoms often become noticeable 12 to 24 hours after activity and may be most noticeable around 24 to 72 hours later.

Common symptoms of DOMS include:

• Muscle tenderness
• Stiffness
• Aching
• Reduced range of movement
• Temporary muscle weakness
• Discomfort when using or stretching the affected muscles

DOMS commonly occurs after an unfamiliar activity or after increasing the amount or intensity of exercise.

For example, you might experience muscle soreness after:

• Starting a new gym program
• Returning to exercise after a break
• Increasing running distance
• Performing more squats or lunges
• Starting resistance training
• Increasing weights
• Completing hill running
• Trying a new sport or fitness class

Why Do Muscles Become Sore After Exercise?

DOMS is associated with temporary changes within muscle tissue following exercise, particularly after eccentric exercise.

Eccentric muscle contractions occur when a muscle produces force while lengthening.

Examples include:

• Lowering yourself into a squat
• Walking or running downhill
• Lowering a weight slowly
• Descending stairs
• Controlling the downward phase of a calf raise

These movements can place significant stress on muscles, particularly when they are unfamiliar.

This creates microscopic changes within the muscle tissue and triggers a normal repair and adaptation response.

Importantly, DOMS is not simply caused by a build-up of lactic acid. Lactic acid is cleared relatively quickly after exercise and is not responsible for soreness experienced one or two days later.

Is Muscle Soreness a Bad Thing?

Not necessarily.

Mild to moderate muscle soreness can be a normal response when the body is adapting to a new exercise stimulus.

However, you do not need to be extremely sore after every workout to improve your strength or fitness.

In fact, excessive soreness may make it harder to exercise consistently.

If each training session leaves you unable to move comfortably for several days, the exercise load may be progressing too quickly.

The goal of exercise should be to create enough stimulus to encourage adaptation without causing unnecessary pain or limiting normal daily activities.

 

Movement

That’s right, movement will help reduce the discomfort in the muscles by pumping blood through the muscles and helps it get the nutrients needed to repair. Doing some light stretches will also help by doing the same. In addition, by continuing to do strength-based exercises, your muscles will be less inclined to be sore after exercising. If you are just starting out or getting back into exercising after a long time, it may be better to start light and ease into it. An exercise physiologist will be able to help you manage your exercise intensity while you build up your tolerance.

 

Heat/Cold:

Applying heat or cold directly after exercising will help with reducing the amount of soreness. Both heat and cold have been used frequently and are both effective methods. Some examples are using ice packs or ice baths for cold methods, and heat packs or hot showers for heat. Sometimes this can be used in combination alternating the two such as a hot cold shower where water temperature is alternated between the two. Some cream or lotions can also be found to soothe soreness with a cooling or heating affect as well.

 

Massage/Acupuncture

Many studies have shown that both massage and acupuncture will help with recovery of muscle soreness, and reduce the discomfort felt afterwards. Massage is helpful by increasing blood flow to the muscles in these areas, similar to when performing movement or light stretching, assisting the body to provide nutrients for the muscles to heal. Acupuncture will help reduce inflammation and ultimately the discomfort felt by the effect of delayed onset of muscle soreness.

To understand more about muscle soreness and DOMS, feel free to book online or give us a call on 07 3398 7022.