Dealing With Sore Muscles After Exercising

Dealing With Sore Muscles After Exercising

Muscle soreness can sometimes be developed after vigorous exercise. The muscle can become sore after engaging in hard workup exercises. Initially on commencing vigorous exercise routine, muscle aches and pains might be experienced after each exercise session but after a while, the body gets adapted to the exercise routine.

Also, muscle soreness can be experienced each time a change is made to your exercise regimen as the body experiences a variation from the regular routine it has been used to. It then takes the body a while to become adapted to the change.

Fitness-related muscle soreness can either manifest as you are exercising or immediately after you are done exercising. It can also be a delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The delayed type of muscle soreness sets in a day or 2 after a strenuous exercise.

Soreness in the muscle after exercising is caused by tears in within the muscle tissues. The intense exercise activity brings about muscle tearing and these tear’s are microscopic and not visible to the naked eyes. The pain experienced in sore muscles is the biological response of the body to the tear, so as to prevent you from over-stressing it again during the workout recovery period. The pain will not allow you to over-train or over-use the muscle site during subsequent exercise sessions.

There are pre, during and post-workout treatments that can help in dealing with muscle soreness. These techniques makes the body able to better cope with the ache and pains being experienced in the muscles after an exercise period. Aside easing muscle aches, these treatments are also able to speed up the recovery process following a tough exercise.

Whenever you experience sore muscles after exercising, the below are useful practices for you to ease the pain and lighten the muscle aches:

1. Pre-workout treatment

An extended warm up and stretch routine before exercising is highly helpful in preventing muscle tear. It prepares your body for the exercise and reduces the effects of the muscle soreness. Fitness moves such as static stretches, dynamic stretching (stretching involving movement), jumping rope, jumping jack help warm up the muscle.

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2. During workout treatment

You need to prevent dehydration while exercising. Sipping water intermittently before and in the course of exercising help prevent the body from getting dehydrated and possibly going into hypovolemic shock. The body easily gets dehydrated when exercising because the body experiences increased sweating, increased evaporation of body fluid etc.

Hydration during workout is good also as it decreases inflammation and prevents muscle cramping while exercising. You can keep the body hydrated with best or low-calorie beverages when exercising, water is however the best option.

Also ensure working out in the correct form using the appropriate body posture for every exercise. And use the correct exercise materials such as exercise or yoga mats rather than ordinary local mats or even the floor.

3. Post-workout treatment

Having a cold bath or soaking in an ice bath help reduce muscle soreness. Resting or relaxing in a chair after exercising or even taking no intervention at all after workout encourage muscles sores. Avoid sudden breaks and abrupt workout terminations, gradually and slowly bring the exercise session to an end and follow it up with a cold bath or preferable soak in an ice bath for about 10 minutes.

Also, apply a heating pad or massage the body with a towel soaked in hot water to ease on muscle tightness which will stimulate blood flow. Muscle tightness is the main cause of muscle pain after exercising. Loosing up sore muscles with heat after few hours also speed up the healing process of the muscles. Consuming fruits and foods or supplements with anti-inflammatory benefits also prevent sore muscles.

Lastly, continue with gradual and moderate use of the muscle. Engage in your routine workout regimen using the muscle in a non-resistant way to avoid more damage or complication of the soreness. Do not stop exercising completely but continue with the use of the muscle and ice therapy till the sore muscle recovers totally.

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