Doms – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

One aspect of starting a workout program that you’re likely to come into contact with at some point or another is delayed onset muscle soreness, DOMS for short.

What is DOMS and what can you do about it?

Let’s take a look at what you need to know.

What Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

DOMS is the muscular pain that often sets in about one to two days after a workout is finished. It’s often characterized by a dull ache that may be tender to the touch and is generally localized to certain regions of the body, usually in the limbs.

You may or may not experience it in many areas of the body depending on the nature of the workout that you performed.

What Causes DOMS?

DOMS is typically caused by tight and tense muscles that have been worked hard, often in ways that they are not used to. You’ll always experience the most DOMS any time you start a new type of physical activity, whether it’s a new cardio routine or a new weight lifting movement.

This is in part due to the fact that the body must get used to this new action pattern that can cause the DOMS reaction to occur.

5 Tips For Reducing DOMS

Now that you know what DOMS is, let’s look at what you can do to stop it.

1) Stretch

Stretching is highly important as a preventative technique. Simply spending 10 minutes or so stretching at the end of your workout can have a significant influence over how much DOMS you feel.

2) Use Warm Baths

Next, a warm bath after a hard workout is yet another way to reduce the impact of DOMS. Baths will help to boost the circulation to the muscle cells, removing any lactic acid build-up that could be contributing to the pain and reducing the amount of tension that you feel.

3) Consider Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is yet another technique to think about. This technique is going to place a bit of extra stress on the muscle body, helping it to relax and ease its tension.

This can then make you feel looser, decreasing the amount of pain you feel.

4) Perform Light Cardio

Light cardio is another great option and can help to reduce the impact of DOMS you feel. Just doing 10 minutes of light walking at the end of a hard leg workout can significantly reduce how sore you feel the next day.

5) Go For A Massage

Finally, if you can afford it, getting a deep tissue massage is the last way to really reduce the DOMS that you experience on a day to day basis.

A massage will also help you relax psychologically as well, which is important for maintaining a fresh mindset towards your workout sessions.

So there you have the important points to note about DOMS and what you can do to reduce the pain that you experience after each workout session that you complete. Make use of these tips and it will be a thing of the past for you.