Why do I get sore for days following exercise?

10 December 2011

The answer to this question is a phenomenon in the body called “Delayed onset muscle

soreness”, but most people know it as DOMS. DOMS begins during the first 24 hours

after exercise and are most intense from 24-72 hours following exercise. DOMS will

occur most intensely when a new program or a increased training intensity is undertaken.

The first few sessions of a new program can cause significant DOMS, but shortly the

body will adapt to the stimulus and the soreness will lessen with each workout.

Soreness is only felt when the affected muscle is stretched, contracted or palpated,

and not at rest.

DOMS are caused during eccentric exercise, which is the lengthening of a muscle

under tension. Isometric or static contractions cause much less soreness, and

concentric exercise (shortening of the muscle) causes none. The soreness you feel

following these eccentric exercises are caused by micro-tears in the muscle fibers

and the inflammatory response from the body when damage occurs.

DOMS can be prevented by gradually increasing the intensity of any new exercise

program, or limiting the amount of eccentric movements in the program, however

the former can be hard to avoid when performing conventional exercise programs.

Stretching and warming up will have no effect on DOMS, and overstretching can

cause muscle soreness on its own. Surprisingly it has been found that exercising

the sore muscles may help to alleviate some of the discomfort. Continued use of the

damaged muscles will not exacerbate pain or cause more muscle damage.

DOMS are an inevitable part of any new exercise program, and especially for people

who have not been participating in any form of resistance training. Many new

exercisers find it hard to move past the muscle soreness they attain following their

first few sessions and will use it as an excuse to discontinue their program.

Don’t let this be a reason for you to not achieve your fitness goals, see it as a sign that

you are working your muscles in a way they have never been worked before, and

therefore you will make fitness gains like never before.

Any comments on this topic are most welcome in the comments section below…

Cheers,

Drew

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