Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Delayed onset muscle
soreness (DOMS) is a familiar experience for the elite or novice
athlete...
It is a sensation of discomfort that occurs 1 to 2 days after exercise and
can range from slight tenderness to debilitating pain.
It usually occurs if you've engaged in an activity that is new to you,
when you're changing activities, or when you haven't engaged in the
activity for some period of time.
For example, if you haven't been exercising for a few months and then you
decide that you're going to run 5 miles, there's a good chance you will
experience DOMS as you're your body calls muscles into action that haven't
been used in some time.
Delayed onset muscle soreness, if it does occur, will usually happen about
12 to 48 hours after the event. Symptoms often feel at their worst some 2
days later and will include overall body soreness, tiredness, weak
muscles, and stiff muscles.
If you continue to exercise in the long term, these delayed symptoms will
gradually disappear, as your body adjusts to the activity and your muscles
gain strength.
What Causes DOMS?
Studies indicate that delayed onset muscle soreness is a result of muscle
fibres experiencing a microscopic tearing. The mechanisms for how this
occurs remain uncertain.
Up to six hypothesised theories have been proposed for the mechanism of
DOMS. They are:
-
Lactic acid
-
Muscle spasm
-
Connective tissue damage
-
Muscle damage
-
Inflammation
-
Enzyme efflux theories
A combination of two or more of these theories is likely to explain muscle
soreness.
It appears that the extent of tearing that occurs is determined by (1) the
type of exercise you participate in, (2) how long you exercised, and (3)
and how strenuously you exercise.
The type of activities that are most closely linked with DOMS are those
which cause muscles to contract eccentrically...
When a muscle contracts and lengthens at the same time it is said
to be contracting eccentrically - slowly lowering a dumbbell to fully
extend your arm in a bicep curl is a good example.
Other activities that stress the musculature eccentrically include...
walking down stairs, running down a hill, any lowering of weights, or the
downward movement of concentrated exercises such as squats.
Can the Delayed Onset
Muscle Soreness Be Prevented?
There are several things that you can do that may prevent delayed onset
muscle soreness...
One important preventive measure is to warm up completely before you start
any type of exercise activity.
It's also important that you remember to cool down completely after the
activity is over.
You can warm up and cool down by doing 5-10 minutes of light, aerobic
exercise, followed by a few stretching exercises
If you are starting a weights program, take the time to build up the
resistance and number of sets and repetitions over several weeks.
Recovering from Delayed
Onset Muscle Soreness
No method has been shown to significantly speed the recovery from delayed
onset muscle soreness.
Massage has shown varying results that may be attributed to the time of
massage application and the type of massage technique used.
Cryotherapy (ice baths or ice packs), stretching, homeopathy, ultrasound
and electrical current modalities have demonstrated no effect in clinical
trials on the alleviation of muscle soreness or other DOMS symptoms.
Gentle exercise is the most effective means of alleviating pain during
DOMS, however the analgesic effect is also temporary.
As an athlete, if you must train on a daily basis, reduce the intensity
and duration of exercise for 1-2 days following intense DOMS-inducing
exercise.
Here are a few other techniques that may work...
Massage the muscles
that are affected. Keep in mind that massaging your sore muscles needs to
be done correctly. You may want to consider hiring someone who is familiar
with sports injuries and remedial massage.
Stretch affected
muscles gently - as long as it alleviates the soreness rather than
increasing it.
Apply ice for short
periods of time to affected muscle groups.
There is some evidence
to suggest that taking an antioxidant such as vitamin C, can aid in the
recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness. Vitamin C plays a role in
repairing connective tissue which may explain its benefit however,
anecdotal reports far outweigh clinical studies. However, taking vitamin C
in large doses is NOT recommended and can, in some cases, be harmful.
Nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory medication won't speed up recovery but it may help
reduce pain in severe bouts of DOMS. Of course you should consult your
physician before taking such medication.
Finally, a recent and promising study by Miller et al. (2004) demonstrated
the effectiveness of a protease supplement on the prevention and recovery
from DOMS...
The experimental group demonstrated significantly superior recovery of
contractile function and diminished effects of delayed onset muscle
soreness after downhill running when compared with a placebo group.
