Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

 Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. What is it and why do I get it?

We’ve all experienced muscle soreness that hits you like a ton of bricks after trying a new workout. Delayed onset muscle soreness usually kicks in at about 12 to 48 hours after you first try a new workout or exercise. While this phenomenon isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is important to understand what is causing your soreness.

As our knowledge of the human body has expanded, so has our understanding of what causes delayed onset muscle soreness. The original notion that lactic acid, in excess amounts, was the cause of delayed soreness dates back well over a hundred years. Lactic acid is a bi-product of energy creation in your cells, in this case your muscle cells. The old school research looked at the elevated lactate as if it was the culprit of delayed soreness, but levels return to normal one hour after exercise, which has zero correlation with the onset of soreness many hours later.

The next theory in line came about in the 1970s and it proposed that delayed soreness must be an inflammatory process. This theory runs counterintuitive to our understanding of inflammation. From an evolutionary standpoint, inflammation is your body’s response to an open wound, like a cut, to prevent infection from entering your body. It is a rapid response intended to save you from dying from infectious disease. If inflammation were the cause of your delayed muscle soreness, it would happen within minutes of finishing your workout.

Today the prevailing understanding is that small micro tears in your muscle’s cell membrane, the outermost layer of the cell, allow chemicals inside of the cell to leak out into the bloodstream. When enough of these chemicals gradually leak out over time they will set off your sensory pain receptors. This is why you often wake up the next day with some new or increased soreness.

The reason these micro tears occur in the muscle cell membranes is because our bodies are incredibly economical. The muscle cell membrane will only be as thick as it needs to be based on what we have asked it to do. When we add a new exercise, or try a workout we haven’t done in awhile the cell membrane is so thin that it is susceptible to micro tears.

After a few workouts your muscle cell membranes will thicken and you will be less likely to induce micro tears and as a result you will no longer experience delayed onset muscle soreness. If you are sore immediately post-workout there could be a variety of causes beginning with plain old muscle fatigue. Normal soreness should be minimal in the days following a workout you are familiar with.

While it isn’t necessary to reduce the soreness you experience following a work out, things like foam rolling and light stretching may help increase blood flow and flush out chemical waste products that should help you feel better. If you are sore for many days after a workout, it is likely that you have experienced an injury. If your injury  Contact us today persists you should seek out an expert at finding and fixing the cause.

Scott King, DC

Novo Soft Tissue