Every one of us at some point in time suffers sore muscles after exercise or post a strenuous physical activity that is new to the body. The pain can be mild or severe based on the intensity of the exercise or physical activity. Also, the timing of muscle soreness can vary too – it can be anywhere between 24 to 48 hours post the activity.
But why do the muscles get sore?
The muscle gets stressed every time an individual performs a physical activity. The stress creates microscopic tears in the muscle and the body signals an alarm in the form of inflammation. The repair process begins, a fluid accumulates, putting pressure resulting in pain and tightness in that particular area.
“This process begins after 12 to 24 hours post the activity and sometimes in the 24-48 hour window in this cases it is called as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)”, says Orthopaedic surgeon in Mumbai Dr Chirag Patel.
So muscle soreness after physical activity is a natural thing. In most cases, this goes away as you keep up with your exercise routine consistently. But having sore muscles every time post physical activity can interfere with your daily routine is in no way desirable.
5 Ways to Prevent and Relieve Sore Muscles:
If you are experiencing pain post a physical activity you have started anew then we recommend you to give your body some time to adopt. But if muscle soreness still lingers even after persisting with routine and this is interfering with your daily routine then there are a few ways to reduce or prevent this muscle soreness.
According to top Orthopaedic surgeon in Mumbai Dr Chirag Patel,
5 Ways to Prevent and Relieve Sore Muscles are:
- Hydrate: First thing you can do is to check if your hydration is on point. Water helps reduce inflammation and circulates the nutrients to the muscles for better recovery. Given how dehydration aggravates muscle soreness and fatigue, if you tend to experience prolonged soreness, check out the colour of urine – if it’s dark, you need to drink more water.
- Ease into exercise: Instead of going all-in from the first day, make sure you slowly ease into the exercise routine gradually to help the body adopt the new regimen. If you are already in the middle you can reduce the intensity and gradually build up.
- Warm up & stretch: Most underrated and simple tip that can go a long way in alleviating your muscle soreness is to include a warm-up and stretching routine into your regimen. Warming up the body with light jogging, biking or lifting light weights will increase the blood flow and prepare the muscle for the work coming next. Consider stretching post-exercise to relax and enable proper blood circulation.
- Nutrition: Feeding the right nutrients after the workout helps replenish the glycogen stores and provides the right nutrition for muscle building. Ensure at least 30 grams of protein and carbohydrate each to trigger adequate muscle building.
- Sleep: Sleep is when your body works hard to repair your sore muscles and if you are skimping on your sleep you are not giving enough time for muscles to rebuild and get stronger for the next workout. Ensure at least 7 hours of sleep every day to help your body recover and get ready for the next workout.
That said exercise regimen is not the only cause of muscle soreness. Regular injuries and trauma can also result in muscle soreness which may linger and worsen when not treated. If you are suffering from muscle sores from injuries then it is advised to consult an expert Orthopaedic specialist in Mumbai to get relived as soon as possible.
If you are living in and around Mumbai and are in looking for help with muscle soreness, you can consult joint replacement and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Chirag Patel here: www.drpatelchirag.com