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Injuries
Almost every one of us knows the feeling of pain that occurs a day after intense training or unusual physical work. It’s worth doing exercises in the gym for an undeveloped muscle group or working hard in the spring at the dacha - and in the morning everything in your body aches. Doctors call this condition delayed onset muscle pain syndrome (DSMS) or sore throat, and in everyday life we often say that “muscles are clogged.”
What is sore throat?
Krepatura is muscle pain that occurs several hours after exercise. , soreness is referred to as DOMS , which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness which pain syndrome.
Let's take a closer look at the mechanisms of this phenomenon and ways to combat it. So, what is sore throat and how does it manifest itself in humans? I believe many of us are familiar with this phenomenon; I would even say that almost all people on the planet have felt muscle pain to one degree or another. They occur not only when lifting weights in gyms, but also in everyday life. Remember how your legs hurt after passing the jumping standards at school, or how your back ached after working in the garden. This is the real sore throat. What can we say about athletes who work with weights, purposefully destroying muscles?
Muscles hurt after training - what to do
Based on the need to injure fibers in bodybuilding for muscle growth, athletes avoid fighting already manifested soreness, but immediately promote rapid muscle recovery through rest and proper nutrition.
- Since pain is caused by inflammation, measures to reduce symptoms using the new method require anti-inflammatory therapy - taking aspirin. It is the removal of inflammation, and not heating, that is necessary to eliminate sore throat.
- Also during this period it is necessary to combat muscle swelling caused by microtrauma of the fibers. To do this, you need to take herbal, green tea and pharmacy kidney preparations .
- Such measures are necessary if the pain is unbearable and causes inconvenience in everyday life. In any case, this is a natural process that can be waited out by resting until the muscles are completely restored .
Causes
When feeling soreness, many people probably thought that something terrible and irreparable had happened to their muscles. There is no need to panic; instead, let’s try to understand this process competently.
So, yesterday you had a wonderful workout with a heavy barbell, but you woke up this morning and felt that your muscles hurt, especially when you contract or palpate them. I don’t want to scare you, but tomorrow they will hurt even more. It’s not for nothing that sore throat is called delayed pain syndrome – pain usually begins to appear 12 hours after exercise, reaches its peak after 36-48 hours, and goes away within a few days.
What happened? The fact is that physical activity caused microtraumatization of muscle fibers - myofibrils. It could have happened in several ways - from mechanical impact, in our case it was lifting heavy weights, or as a result of chemical destruction - muscle acidification.
Theory of microtrauma
Currently, several hypotheses for the occurrence of sore throat have been presented. The theory of microtrauma seems to be the most substantiated . According to this theory, muscle pain occurs due to damage to muscle fibers and connective tissue under the influence of both concentric and eccentric loading. Moreover, from the latter type of load the sore throat is much stronger, and this is a long-established fact.
Muscles consist of myofibrils of varying lengths; the shorter ones tear first, so-called structural overload occurs and the integrity of the muscle cell is disrupted. This leads to inflammation, the damaged areas swell, the pressure in the cell increases and this irritates the nerve endings that are located in the muscles. As a result, the person feels pain. I believe you have observed that sore muscles noticeably swell and become larger, sometimes this is confused with muscle growth, but a few days pass, the swelling subsides and there is no trace of “growth” left. Also, immune cells are sent to the destroyed cell, the purpose of which is to eliminate inflammation and restore cellular structure.
Chemical destruction hypothesis
The chemical destruction hypothesis states that muscle pain occurs as a result of the accumulation of lactic acid and hydrogen ions as a result of muscle activity in anaerobic mode. Surely you are familiar with the effects of lactic acid accumulation - it is characterized by an unpleasant burning sensation in the muscle. Typically, the burning sensation occurs from a lot of repetitive movements, such as when pedaling quickly on a bicycle or pumping-style strength training. Lactate and hydrogen ions seem to burn the muscle cell, water from the tissue fluid enters the muscle fibers, causing them to swell, and this irritates the nerve endings, which cause pain.
How to get rid of sore throat
So, according to the plan, you had, for example, a long distance run. The result is clogged legs (mainly the calf muscle). There are several ways to stretch a tired body and minimize the unpleasant effect that awaits us in 48 hours. To be more precise, there are at least five of them! Muscle recovery is not a very fast process, but it can be speeded up if you follow simple rules.
Mandatory cool down
You finished your run or got off your bike. The feeling of heaviness and fatigue in the legs makes itself felt first. How to relax clogged leg muscles? The first thing you must do is not to collapse, but do what every athlete must do without fail - cool down!
This will relax tense muscles, stretch them and speed up the removal of waste products from the body. The exercises will only take five minutes of your time, but they will save you from future suffering or at least reduce it. “Thank you very much” will be said not only by the muscles, but also by the fascia.
Contrast or ice baths
After a hard training day and a mandatory cool-down (you remember this, right?), you should pamper your body with water treatments. It’s up to you to decide what it will be: just a hot bath, a contrast shower or ice water. Experts differ on what works more effectively.
Just hot water relaxes muscles, raises body temperature and, as a result, accelerates blood. Accelerated blood circulation promotes a faster removal of toxins from the body and an influx of beneficial substances that will be used as “repair bricks”.
A contrast shower performs two functions at once: hot water relaxes and accelerates blood circulation to speed up the process of getting rid of waste products, and cold water relieves inflammation from damaged muscle fibers.
An ice bath or ice pack is a last resort. This should be done in case of very high loads. For example, Craig Alexander, a famous Australian triathlete, after grueling training, immerses his legs in a bath filled with ice water and ice cubes for just a few minutes.
Massage (self-massage using massage rollers and sports massage)
Another good option that can be used both as a cool-down and as a separate method is self-massage using massage rollers or other special massagers.
You can roll tired and clogged leg muscles using cylindrical rollers. There are several options: with a smooth surface (soft and gentle effect), with a ribbed surface (harder effect) and a massage roller with vibration (usually has a ribbed surface).
For self-massage of the pectoral muscles or, if a more targeted effect is needed, it is better to use massage balls of different sizes and hardness.
For example, Blackroll has a special mobile application with training and clear instructions for using massage equipment - BLACKROLL® FASCIA TRAINING (Android, iPhone).
If the load was very serious, it is better not to engage in self-massage, but to contact a specialist who will do this work much more effectively. A sports massage is a controversial pleasure, but after it you will regain the ability to move freely and without pain.
As a preventative measure, we recommend going for a sports massage at least once a month.
Medicines and sports supplements
If none of the above has given the desired effect and healing has not occurred, you can turn to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These can be warming gels and ointments: Voltaren-gel, Fastum-gel, Diclofenac, Xefocam. Tablets are not highly recommended, but in emergency cases you can take Diclofenac, Nimesulide or Ibuprofen.
Since prevention is better than cure, it is better to follow preventive measures - take special sports supplements. BCAA and glutamine do a good job of combating this problem. It is also advisable to drink more water, and if this is a long workout, then it is better to replace the water with isotonic drinks.
Attending yoga classes and stretching training
Yoga and stretching classes are more of a preventive measure than an emergency aid. Attending such training sessions at least once a week will not be superfluous. Stretching lengthens muscles, makes the body more flexible and mobile, removes tension from the shoulders and neck, unloads the lumbar region and opens the hip joints.
The ideal option is to use this workout as a cool-down, if possible. For example, if your plan is swimming, cycling, treadmill or strength training, then you can safely go to yoga or stretching. This will be the coolest cool-down for your body!
In addition to the options listed, do not forget about a balanced diet, enough sleep and moderation in training. With good, high-quality food, the body receives microelements that will become building material for tired muscles. During sleep, growth hormone is produced and basic repair work occurs in muscle tissue. Compliance with the training plan and moderation in exercise allows the body to adapt to new loads and reduce pain after exercise.
Myths about sore throat
Pain due to lactic acid in muscles
A popular myth about sore throat is associated with lactic acid. Most people believe that soreness is associated with the presence of lactic acid in the muscle. I hasten to disappoint the theorists - lactic acid is very quickly removed from worked muscles; 30-40 minutes after physical activity, its traces are no longer detectable. It no longer has anything to do with pain that occurs after 12 or more hours; it simply does not exist in the muscles.
"No pain - no growth"
The second myth can be characterized by the famous phrase “ no pain, no growth .” Many athletes believe that after training, the muscles must definitely ache, they say, this indicates the degree of quality of the work of these same muscles. Not only that, some people also purposefully chase soreness, overloading their body beyond measure, causing hellish pain. Of course, these people are mistaken; just remember how your muscles hurt at the very beginning of training and some time after regular exercise. At the same time, the soreness became much less, and muscle mass and strength indicators increased significantly. Some muscles, for example, rarely hurt at all, but this does not mean that they do not grow. There is nothing wrong with weak or moderate intensity soreness, but if it is such that it hurts to sit down, then we can definitely say that the training caused very severe damage and did more harm than good.
Muscle soreness: friend or foe
There are two sides to the coin. First: soreness means that the training was intense enough, and the necessary muscles were involved. Yes, they were injured - but after this their growth will increase, they will adapt to new exercises and become stronger. Next time such a load will no longer cause pain.
But there is also a minus. Regular chronic sore throat inhibits the development of an athlete’s muscle tissue. As a result, the body runs out of resources necessary for its regeneration - pain becomes a permanent phenomenon that occurs even with light exertion.
Conclusion: sore throat is a friend, as long as you don’t stay at a party for too long.
Ways to combat sore throat
More frequent training
The main tool in the fight against sore throat is the level of training and frequency of training . It has been established that the more often each muscle group is trained, the less soreness. If you train a muscle group once a week, you can be sure that soreness will haunt you more often than those athletes who train a muscle group 2-3 times a week. To competently train a muscle group more often, you need to follow the principles of periodization and load cycling. Of course, you need to learn how to dose physical activity, avoiding excessive muscle pain.
Hot shower and massage
In addition to increasing the frequency of training, you can use other ways to get rid of soreness. A hot shower immediately after exercise will help remove lactic acid faster and reduce muscle pain. After 24 hours or more, you can take a hot bath. Relaxing massage and MFR - myofascial release will help reduce pain. It is performed using a foam massage roller.
Is it possible to exercise if your muscles are very sore after training?
Krepatura is not a case when you need to “knock out a wedge with a wedge.” During this period, it is necessary to allow the muscles to fully recover, regardless of goals and level of physical fitness. If you do physical exercises through pain, improving blood circulation and dilating blood vessels, the muscles actually stop hurting for a while. But this is not a reason to do training for already injured fibers. Exercising through pain will lead to fatigue, because pain indicates that the muscles have not yet recovered.
To get rid of soreness, you need to leave the muscles alone.
For beginners, this process is more painful until the muscles adapt. In the future, the frequency of training and the level of load can be increased. For those who are gaining weight, training with soreness is also not worth it , since muscle growth is impossible without recovery and rest.
You can work out with soreness if the program includes split training - different muscle groups are trained on separate days. While one or two groups are recovering, the next ones are training. During the period of muscle pain after strength training, you can perform cardio training if necessary and does not contradict the training goals. In any case, nothing bad will happen in a couple of days if you wait out the pain and take a break from stress.
Prevention
The famous actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, sharing the secrets of achieving his physical shape, said: “No pain no gain” (no pain - no gain). Many people misunderstand this aphorism, considering strength to be a necessary condition for the growth of muscle mass.
In fact, long-term muscle pain does not help in building muscle, but hinders it. After all, until it recedes, full-fledged training is impossible - since, as already mentioned, muscle performance and maximum strength with sore throat sharply decrease.
Arnold, by saying this, was referring to another pain - a burning sensation in the muscles when performing the last repetitions of the approach. Only by overcoming this pain and performing exercises until the muscles completely fail can you achieve high results in bodybuilding. And this can be done, reducing the risk of sore throat to a minimum.
To ensure that delayed-onset muscle pain bothers you as little as possible, you must adhere to the following rules:
- Start strength training only after a thorough warm-up.
- Avoid sudden increases in load. The increase in the weight of the apparatus or the effort of the simulator should not exceed 10% of the usual.
- Start new types of exercises with light weights, gradually switch to low-repetition mode, gradually increasing the weight at each workout.
- Do not take long breaks from training. Returning to classes after a long break guarantees the appearance of sore throat.
It is also necessary to eat right. A balanced diet containing sufficient amounts of proteins and vitamins promotes rapid recovery, strengthening and thickening of muscle fibers. This means that it increases their resistance to factors that cause the appearance of sore throat. Adequate sleep is also of great importance for strengthening muscle fibers, because it is during sleep that growth hormone, one of the most important anabolic hormones, is released.
Why does muscle spasm occur and how to deal with it?
So, a person made a sudden movement, pulled a muscle, sat in a draft, was in a static position for a long time in an uncomfortable position, and a muscle spasm occurred.
Muscle spasms often occur after exposure to a draft
The mechanics are as follows: at the moment of spasm, all intramuscular fibers simultaneously contract, forming a kind of protective shaft, trying to protect the tissue from further irritation. Pain occurs and intensifies, creating even greater muscle tension.
Most often in the human body, the spinal (lumbar) and cervical muscles spasm. For some people, one or more of these muscles (and sometimes both) are constantly tense. These areas are the most sensitive to stress. And a person most often “exposes” them to attack.
Superficial back muscles
Deep back muscles
By the way. Spasmodic back pain, if accompanied by severe numbness of the skin tissue, tingling, muscular dystrophy, may indicate such serious pathologies as a ruptured intervertebral disc or nerve.
Why does soreness occur after physical activity?
The occurrence of DOMS syndrome or muscle soreness is due to mechanical and metabolic reasons:
- overload and microtrauma of individual muscle fibers, damage to their membranes and intracellular structures;
- changes in intracellular Ca concentration;
- entry into the blood of destroyed muscle proteins (creatine kinase, myoglobin, and MHC proteins);
- development of inflammation and delayed penetration of macrophages into damaged muscle tissue;
- an increase in the concentration of acute phase proteins released from the liver to restore damaged structures.
But discomfort and cramping pain are a consequence of swelling of the muscle fibers, as well as irritation of pain receptors located in the connective tissue membranes surrounding the muscle fibers. Pain occurs when the myelin sheath of the receptors comes into contact with lactic acid molecules, hydrogen ions and endogenous substances. Excess lactic acid in muscle tissue is “washed out” of it slowly and gradually, and hydrogen ions and other endogenous breakdown products are constantly formed during the inflammatory process, and then during intensive regeneration.
Diagnosis of muscle pain
Determining why myalgia occurs is not always easy. Only a doctor can understand the causes and select treatment that helps get rid of disturbing symptoms or alleviate them. To find out the cause of myalgia, the doctor conducts a comprehensive examination, including a neurological one, prescribes laboratory tests, ultrasound, computed tomography and other research methods3.
Various specialists treat myalgia. Depending on its cause, a traumatologist, rheumatologist, neurologist or endocrinologist can help you.
How to avoid muscle pain
To reduce muscle soreness or at least minimize it, you should follow the following recommendations:
- Warm up. Before starting a workout, it is necessary to do a warm-up, because it is strictly not recommended to load unwarmed muscles. This part of the workout helps disperse lactic acid, which accumulates in the muscles, and removes it from the body. After warming up, you should do some stretching.
- Hitch. The main part of the workout must be completed with a special set of exercises - a cool-down. It allows you to smoothly slow down the pace of exercise and move from a state of increased activity to a state of rest. The workout should be completed with repeated stretching, which should be done extremely carefully, without sudden movements.
- Drinking water. During intense exercise, the body loses a lot of fluid, which comes out in the form of sweat. It is important to replenish it by drinking enough water during and after exercise.
- Correct increase in load. To avoid the appearance of pain, a sharp increase in the weight of the apparatus and the force of the simulator is not allowed. The recommended amount by which these parameters can be increased is no more than 10%.
- Regularity of classes. Long breaks between classes are fraught with the appearance of sore throat. To avoid this, you need to train regularly.
How to train
When soreness appears in the first days, it is better not to load the affected muscles. Until the peak of pain passes, take a short break from training.
You can return to exercise when the pain subsides, this can happen on the 3-4th day. However, exercises that involve painful muscles should not be done. Work out other muscle groups, or do cardio.
If the soreness does not go away after 7 days, then you can load the painful muscles, but the weight should be 35-40% of the maximum. That is, if you squatted with a barbell of 100 kg, then before the symptoms of soreness end, this weight should be 35-40 kg. With this mode, only intact muscle fibers are included in the work. You can move on to full-fledged training when the muscles have fully recovered.
