DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is in other words delayed muscle soreness. It manifests itself as stiffness, soreness and tenderness in damaged muscles, and usually appears on the second or third day after intense exercise. DOMS can be compared to sourdoughs, but is it right? Check out the difference between the two states and find out if DOMS can exercise.

Contents:

  1. DOMS - definition
  2. DOMS - is it dangerous?
  3. DOMS - is it DOMS or soreness?
  4. DOMS - when does it appear?
  5. DOMS - how to prevent?
  6. DOMS - good ways to DOMS. What is not worth using?
  7. DOMS - can DOMS be practiced?

DOMS do not appear immediately after training. Most physically active people could not experience this state until a day or two after intense exercise - we wake up, try to stretch, and then we feel excruciatingly stiff and aching muscles that prevent us from getting out of bed efficiently. This is DOMS.

It's not a pleasant feeling, but luckily, "domsy" has more advantages than you might think. Of course, you cannot bend it the other way and cause them specifically, because in the end, it is inflammation and muscle damage. Nevertheless, it is worth disenchanting delayed muscle soreness.

DOMS - definition

DOMS is translated from Englishdelayed onset muscle soreness- delayed muscle pain syndrome. Pain usually occurs 24 to 72 hours after exercise and can last up to 7 days! It all depends on how much our muscles have been damaged, and this in turn dictates the intensity of the training.

The formation of "doms" is explained by the structural microtrauma of muscle fibers. More specifically, DOMS ascends when, during a given movement, a tense muscle stretches instead of contracting. This causes more damage to the muscle tissue and breaks the actin-myosin junctions and the membranes surrounding the muscle fibers. The effect of this increased force on a muscle is its stretching - greater than the strength of a given muscle. It is the body's natural defenses to protect the joint and other structures from damage. An example of such physical activity will be running down a hill or down stairs.

Muscle pain after exercise caused byit is caused by inflammation flowing to the places of muscle damage caused by microdamages. The effects of inflammation, in turn, are generated by skeletal muscle stem cells that form muscle fibers.

DOMS - is it dangerous?

DOMS is not dangerous. It runs within the first basic type of fatigue, i.e. acute local fatigue (according to Lisewska, there are four types: acute local, acute general, chronic local and chronic general). Acute local fatigue arises as a result of too intensive work of the locomotor system, as a result of which the energy potential is reduced, which results in "doms".

The inflammation that is then created is not dangerous - on the contrary, it only leads to muscle adaptation and the body getting used to a given type of effort. This mechanism can be compared to vaccination, when a dangerous foreign body is introduced into the body, and after fighting the threat, our body immunizes and becomes stronger.

It is the same with "doms", which lead to the sensitization of receptors, ie lowering the threshold of excitability of nerve endings, and more specifically of pain (nonreceptors) through inflammation, which is released thanks to damaged cells. We are talking about the so-called inflammatory mediators that stimulate the repair processes of minor tissue damage that occurs during intense exercise.

Importantly, the intensity of the DOMS does not always reflect the size of the damage data. The soreness and tenderness of tissues depends on the specific case - the threshold of pain sensitivity and at least the influence of other inflammatory processes in our body (therefore, if we decide to train during the disease, we can expect greater muscle soreness, slower regeneration and worsening of the disease undergoing it).

DOMS - is it DOMS or soreness?

Soreness is a feeling that resembles muscle cramps and failure. They are felt during intense physical exertion and also a few hours after its completion.

Sour acids are mistakenly associated with lactic acid build-up in the muscles, hence confusing them with Delayed Muscle Pain Syndrome. In fact, lactic acid is excreted from the muscle tissue thanks to the blood circulating in the body, and it happens as early as 1-2 hours after exercise. Lactic acid is used by the liver for a number of processes in the body, such as gluconeogenesis.

What we feel after intense exercise a few days after it is not soreness, as most people think, but delayed muscle soreness, i.e. domsy.

DOMS - when toappears?

DOMS usually appears 24-72 hours after intense exercise, although at first it may not be so. Domsy attacks suddenly and never shows up immediately after exertion. However, delayed muscle soreness can last from 5 to even 7 days.

Despite the fact that just after exercise, only soreness can accompany us, and doms appear later, we can predict when they will happen. DOMS usually occurs when we make a movement that is new to the body and is characterized by an extraordinary intensity.

For example: if we have a sedentary job and we go to the mountains for a 6-hour trail for the weekend, the next day we can expect DOMS. Therefore, it is worth taking this into account in order not to suffer from delayed muscle soreness afterwards.

DOMS - how to prevent?

Anyone who has experienced delayed muscle soreness knows that prevention is better than cure. The prevention of "domes" includes the four most important rules:

  1. Thorough warm-up. Warming up is the basis of any training! It protects against injuries and prepares the body for exercise. Once we've done a good warm-up, DOMS shouldn't show up. Muscles warmed up and prepared for exercise will be resistant even to new challenges and exercises that we have not done before.
  2. Gradual increase in effort. To avoid DOMS, we should gradually increase the intensity of our physical activity. When doing so, our body will manage to adapt to new movement challenges that we impose on it.
  3. Stretching and "cool down". Stretching and cooling the muscles after intense exercise is extremely important. Most of the cases of DOMS occurrence are precisely the lack of the cooling down phase after physical activity. Active rest after training should ideally last about 10 minutes and take place at a very gentle pace. Stretching, yoga, and breathing training are a good idea. However, research shows that stretching immediately after training can only increase muscle damage, so it is worth applying it a few hours after sports activity.
  4. Rolling before and after training. Rolling is an excellent way to massage the myofascial structures, reduce tension and stimulate the work of tissues and properly blood them. Use a dotted roller to warm up before training, and use a medium-hard, smooth roller to relax and reduce muscle soreness. The muscle used should be rolled up to a maximum of 3 minutes.

DOMS - good ways to DOMS. What is not worth using?

How do I get rid of DOMS?

  1. To alleviate them, it is worth using alternately pouring cold water, once hot water or just cold showers, which will improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation.
  2. You can also try a gentle massage, but we should not overdo it, because otherwise we can only exacerbate muscle pain.
  3. In order to deal with DOMS faster, it is also worth choosing a high-protein diet rich in a set of amino acids and supplementation with vitamin C - it will alleviate inflammation. Anti-inflammatory and recovery products include avocados, walnuts, sea fish, and ginger and turmeric, and using them in your diet can help reduce muscle pain.
  4. It is not worth using painkiller ointments, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (with acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen) or paracetamol on DOMS, because they will not help against this ailment.
  5. Another unnecessary thing to do during "doms" is stretching. When we have DOMS for stretching it is too late - contrary to popular belief, stretching when the muscles sore will not help (do stretching at the end of the training, only then it will fulfill its function). Stretching in such a situation can only harm - it will tear the muscle fibers even more and aggravate the inflammation.
  6. Muscle pain after exercise will also not help with another intense effort, which can have much more serious consequences than ordinary muscle pain and stiffness.

DOMS - can DOMS be practiced?

Wondering if DOMS can be practiced? The answer is: it depends.

Depends on the degree of damage and the exercise you plan to do. In the case of "doms", it is not advisable to exercise damaged muscles and intense physical exertion. Of course, it is also not recommended to lie in bed all day, as this is not necessarily the case with this type of muscle microdamage. On the contrary, a total lack of exercise can only increase muscle stiffness, as well as tenderness and soreness.

During activity, blood circulation improves, and blood flows to our muscles, which increases their regeneration, oxygenates them and improves their functionality. Moderate physical activity is even recommended - a simple walk, swimming or gentle exercises on the mat will be most suitable for DOMS and can help regenerate damaged muscles.

About the authorMałgorzata Kośla She is a qualified fitness instructor and certified personal trainer. Since childhood, her greatest passion was sport - she played football and basketball. Then a new love came - dance, especially dancehall. He likes to sweat at the gym and relaxes in yoga sessionsand meditation. He is constantly expanding his knowledge about training and a he althy lifestyle. What besides sports? He runs a store with natural cosmetics and he althy food, writes his own blog (stylzyciadowolny.pl) and deals with copywriting.

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