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What Causes Sore Muscles
I’m sure you have had it happen to you before – you do strenuous work or
exercise and wake up the next morning with muscle soreness. Even when you
didn’t hurt the night before, you may be experiencing something known as
DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Whatever activity or project you
did, you tried to do too much, too quickly. Now, you have sore muscles to
deal with.
What causes those sore muscles?
Theories on the cause of muscle soreness have changed through the years. Not
long ago, lactic acid would have been fingered as the culprit for those
aching muscles. However, that theory has all but been dismissed today.
During high levels of physical activity, lactic acid is produced because the
muscle’s demand for oxygen gets too high and the blood cannot deliver all it
needs. In order to produce energy needed for the muscles to function, the
body begins a process that works without that oxygen. This process has a
byproduct – lactic acid! It builds up and gets locked in your muscles. Since
it is an acid, it can cause a burning sensation within the muscle tissue.
For many years, lactic acid build up was thought to be the cause of sore
muscles. Today, this has been shown to be an incorrect thought. Lactic acid
does not remain in the muscles for any length of time. It is completely
washed out between 30 and 60 minutes after the physical exertion. With most
muscle soreness being noted 24 to 36 hours after the exercise, the cause of
sore muscles was back to being a mystery.
The popular theory of today about the cause for sore muscles is micro-trauma
to muscle fibers. When you overdue your physical exertion, whether it be
during work or play, you do some localized damage to the muscle fiber
membranes. This damaged muscle can become inflamed, which can cause
soreness.
Other factors could be:
·
That the damaged muscles release chemical irritants, which can irritate pain
receptors.
·
That there is an increase in blood flow to the area because of the increased
activity of the muscle. This increased blood flow can cause swelling, which
can irritate pain receptors.
So, whenever you overdo it physically, there is the possibility you won’t
wake up feeling great! This is due to the fact that your muscle fibers have
microscopic tears, are fatigued from the exercise, and are swollen due to
various reasons.
By moving the sore muscles, you can gradually return them to their normal
state. Don’t try to exercise at your previous intensity, though, since the
damaged muscles have lost some of their strength. Give the muscles some time
to heal before attempting to exercise or work at the level which originally
caused the injury and soreness.
How do I avoid sore muscles?
While there is no “cure” once you have sore muscles (other than time), there
are tricks to help you avoid sore muscles altogether.
·
When you exercise, gradually increase the intensity of the workout. This
will allow the strength and endurance of your muscles to grow.
·
Make sure that you stretch and warm up properly before any physical
activity. Stretch and cool down at the end of the activity. This will help
you avoid the sore muscles in the future.
·
Make sure that you are using the correct form when exercising, as incorrect
posture and positioning can cause sore muscles.
It is best to think of sore muscles as an injury. You cannot push them or
you will cause more damage or even more serious injury. While you do not
have to stop activity completely, you will have to rest more and do moderate
exercising for several days in order to give the muscles a chance to heal.
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