Muscle Soreness? Try These Quick Fixes

Have you ever been sore after exercising or attempting a specific sports activity, you are not alone. They include the muscle soreness which is usual with persons who exercise, and which is experienced by almost every individual. This is particularly the case in the initial days following the exercise, under a condition referred to as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). But why is it so? And what can you do to minimise the uncomfortable feeling?

What Causes Muscle Soreness?

The idea is that whenever you overload your muscles and make the muscles work beyond what they normally would in a day, then muscle fibre rips. This might sound alarming but it’s normal and indeed a process of building muscle strength. Your body rebuilds these small openings that you have in muscle tissue; in the end, you are bestowed with stronger muscles. But this repair process also generates inflammation, which is why after some intense or new exercises your muscles are sore.

Measures to be taken to Help Relieve Muscle Soreness

Therefore though general stiffness in muscles signifies that the muscles are being worked on and one is improving on his/her workout regime, it is nevertheless painful. Fortunately, there is a ton of literature in the field of sports science that can help to minimize this discomfort.

Foam Rolling:

Another technique that is used widely to minimize the pain is foam rolling. It is more generally described as a type of massaging technique that employs the use of a cylindrical piece of dense foam and in which the recipient uses their body weight to apply pressure on muscles. The pressure assists in stimulating the muscle to relieve the tension throughout out the area. Comprehensive research works have revealed that foam rolling at approximately 20 minutes after exercise, and again every 24 hours as a way to experience less muscle soreness.

Getting a Massage:

Here is the truth—you do not need a reason to receive a massage; it is essential to note that messages do not only relax the body but also aid in relaxing the muscles after exercise. A review of the literature showed that receiving a massage specifically a massage to the affected areas lessened the level of muscle soreness. For instance, one research investigated that applying 30 minutes of massage per leg being done after an exhaustive exercise such as running reduced soreness. This can be explained by the fact that massaging facilitates blood circulation and this enhances the rate at which the body heals.

Stretching:

The application of stretching tends to be in warm-up and cool-down activities during the conduct of physical exercises. Even though stretching can effectively decrease the chances of injuries, enhance flexibility and lose weight, it has been proven not to alleviate muscle soreness post-workout. But it is not without advantages, for instance, it assists in making your muscles less rigid hence avoiding the possibility of ailing in the next exercises.

Taking Antioxidants:

Some people attempt to use antioxidants in capsule or tablet form to try and decrease muscle pain. Antioxidants on the other hand are substances that assist in the protection of the cells of your body. There exists little evidence to support the intake of antioxidants in that they may help slightly in decreasing muscle soreness. However, other papers show that excessive intake of antioxidants may be detrimental, for instance, causing diarrhoea. Hence it is useful to be a little careful with this approach and maybe it is better to seek medical advice before including antioxidant supplements in your diet.

Conclusion

Muscle pain and stiffness are a normal sign of building up muscle and a general sign that your body is becoming stronger. It is recommended that it cannot be very pleasant, but in most cases, it is a signal that your muscles have woken up to new tasks. So when people get foam rolling, going or getting massages and stretching, they can be able to overcome the problem of muscle soreness hence they continue aiming at their fitness targets. I would like to emphasize that it is crucial to pay attention to the signals that our body gives us, and rest, if necessary; The most important thing is to enjoy the process of becoming stronger and healthier.