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Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: How does it affect you?
If you
have frequently worked hard at the gym, you will be familiar with the ain that
occurs the next day.
This
pain can cause you aggravation. It is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle
Soreness) and it occurs anywhere between the time you work out and 48 hours
after. The pain usually peaks at 48 hours.
DOMS
can occur anywhere through out the body that has been exposed to unfamiliar or
intense physical activity.
An
article from ‘The Strength and Conditioning Journal’ by Bret Conteras
and Brad Schoenfeld questioned why our muscles develop a delayed onset of
soreness.
The
article found that the contemporary theory is wrong. The contemporary theory
believes that the build up of lactic acid and toxins are the source of the
pain. The rejection of the acid and toxins develops inflammation and soreness
around the tissue. This creates the soreness that you experience. The swelling
and acid takes a while to subside.
On the
other hand, Schoenfeld & Contreras believe that “Doms appear to be a
product of inflammation caused by microscopic tears in the connective tissue
elements that sensitize nocicpetors”. Due to this we are much more
sensitive to pain. This is why it is rather difficult to do anything with your
aggravated muscles.
The
pain’s origin has been identified as a process of connective tissue
micro-trauma. Schoenfeld and Contreras
also believe that these pockets of micro-trauma are caused by the act of
lengthening or stretching your muscles.
This
is called the eccentric phase. An apt name for what is an eccentric yet common
phenomenon for health and fitness purists, everywhere.
How
does it affect you?
Some
of you may think that certain exercise nullifies the development of these micro
tears. You may think you are immune.
This
is not true because studies have shown that there is a correlation between
Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness and exercise induced muscle damage.
If you
were to develop a muscle injury, your long-term fitness goals will suffer. Both
your physiology and psychology will suffer. You will not be able to produce as
much force in your workouts and your development will be affected because of
this. Furthermore, you will be less inclined to go to the gym and keeping your
schedule when you are being halted by DOMS.
Can
muscle be built from damage?
Before
this question is answered, we need to develop an understanding of how our
muscles work within the collective system of the body.
Your
body contains 650 skeletal muscles.
These muscles contract when they receive signals from your motor
neurone. These signals are transmitted between your motor neurone and skeletal
muscles. The signals are bridged between the two by an autonomous cell. This
cell is called ‘Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ’.
So
when you see someone who is not very muscular, lifting heavy weights, it is
because they have conditioned their body to receive message from their motor
neurones more effectively.
This
is why muscle gain is more pro-active within the initial stages of your
development. From then on your muscles grow at a steady rate.
How do
they grow?
Immediately
after a workout your body replaces the damaged muscle fibres by fusing muscle
fibres together. These fibres contribute to the development of new muscle
protein strands.
Muscle
growth then occurs when the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than
the rate of muscle protein breakdown.
However,
keep in mind that this cellular process occurs when you rest and not when you
are lifting the weights.
There
are three factors that contribute to the growth of your muscles.
These
three factors include:
·
Muscle
tension.
·
Muscle
damage.
·
Metabolic
stress.
These
three factors can lead to delayed onset muscle soreness but they will also help
you develop your muscles.
In
order to grow your muscles you have to stimulate them through tension.
You have to adapt your muscles to a tension that they have not previously
endured.
Many
bodybuilders start developing muscle by lifting progressively heavier weights.
This tension improves growth factors such as motor activation and satellite
cell activation.
Furthermore,
muscle damage causes a release of inflammatory molecules and immune
system cells that activate satellite signals. This localized muscle damage can
make your reactions faster. It will also improve your muscle regeneration.
This
soreness is then attenuated over time by other mechanisms.
Finally,
metabolic stress is caused by the formation of cells around the muscle.
This causes swelling. This swelling can
be perceived as growth. This type of growth is known as sarcoplasmic
hyperthrophy that increases muscles without the increase of strength.
Can
muscle soreness benefit you?
Through
scientific study, physiologists have determined that muscle damage can develop
your muscles. The regeneration is put into motion through the degeneration of
your muscle tissue.
However,
it is not known whether micro tears lead to the regeneration of muscles
development on a scale that is visible.
Some
people may welcome the delayed soreness because they believe that if there is
no pain, there is no gain. However,
Contera and Schoenfeld believe that DOMS does not help support the growth of
your muscles.
The
two physiotherapists say that “although DOMS may provide a general indication
that some degree of damage to muscle tissue has occurred it cannot be used as a
definitive measure of the phenomena”.
So
while you may pride, motivate or measure yourself based on the burn of your
muscle during a workout, or the soreness of your muscle the following day, make
sure to not injure yourself.
Muscles
also rely reflexive gains. You don’t just need to be strong when lifting. You
also need to be explosive with your movement.
How
do you reduce the inevitable pain of delayed onset muscle soreness?
Try foam
rolling. The cylinder of foam may contain an alchemist’s secret because it
can ease tightness and tension between your muscle and the connective tissue
called fascia.
Use
your bodyweight to roll major muscle groups over the foam. Apply pressure to
your knotted areas. This will increase the blood flow.
You
could also use balms. Balms provide cooling sensation that reduces
muscle pain. Menthol balms cause ions of calcium to affect neurons that sense
temperature. This inhibits the brain/pain connection.
A
study found that balm is more affective than ice. In fact, it was 63% more
affective on the study’s participants.
You
could also lightly exercise your muscles before intense workouts.
Bodyweight exercises can help you warm up. Athletes who did ten maximal bicep
curls were asked to do a hard workout of five sets f the maximal eccentric
conditions.
They
had significantly less muscle pain than the group who did not condition a week
before.
This
article was wrote by Chris Simon from from Origym.
The company sells personal trainer courses. Chris enjoy learing about the human
anatomy. He tries to frequently blog about the internal effects of external
properties on the body. For example, he wrote about how music can change moods.
He loves cats, music, reading and Italian food.
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