Muscle Pain After Exercise and How to Relieve It

Muscle aches after exercise are common. Although actually not dangerous, this complaint sometimes raises concerns of serious injury. Muscle pain after exercise is usually experienced by people who exercise after some time not doing it, have just increased the intensity of exercise, or try a new type of exercise. In medical terms, muscle aches and stiffness that arise after exercise are called delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. This muscle pain usually appears within 24-48 hours after exercising with a high enough intensity, such as jogging, aerobics, or lifting weights. This condition can cause complaints of mild to severe muscle pain, muscle stiffness, aches, slight swelling of the muscles, and a temporary reduction in muscle strength. If the muscles are rested, complaints of pain and stiffness will usually get better faster.

Causes of Muscle Pain After Exercise

After physical activity or strenuous exercise, DOMS can occur when the body's muscle tissue is trying to adapt by repairing and increasing muscle mass. This reaction is actually a normal thing to happen. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, several studies have concluded that DOMS can result from:

• Lactic acid buildup as a result of muscle metabolism
• Minor injury to muscles
• Damaged connective and muscle tissue
• Inflammation in muscles
• Changes in electrolyte and enzyme levels in muscles

People who rarely warm up or don't warm up well before exercising have a high risk for experiencing DOMS.

Tips to Relieve Muscle Pain After Exercising

When DOMS happens, there are several things you can do to alleviate this complaint, namely by:

1. Gentle massage

Mild and gentle massage on the body that aches can prove to increase blood flow and stimulate nerves, thereby reducing pain and swelling of muscles.

2. Cold or warm compresses

If new pain appears and there is a slight swelling in the muscles, you can compress it with a cold compress for 10-15 minutes. The trick, wrap ice cubes in a cloth or towel, then stick to the muscles that are painful and swollen. After the pain begins to subside and there is no swelling, you can speed up recovery with a warm compress for 10-15 minutes. A warm bath can also help relieve pain due to DOMS.

3. Increase the amount of rest

To help with muscle recovery, it is recommended that you sleep for 8-9 hours a day and eat foods high in protein. Don't forget to drink enough water to avoid dehydration.

4. Using drugs

In addition to the methods above, taking drugs or applying pain medication creams, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can also help relieve pain after exercise. This method can also be done on DOMS that already disrupt daily activities. During recovery, you should avoid physical exercise that is too heavy and prolonged, until the pain begins to decrease. However, try to keep moving actively. You can do stretches or light exercise, for example walking around the house. This method can help blood flow to the problematic muscles and stimulate the production of endorphins which can relieve pain. To prevent DOMS recurrence, do regular exercise and do not increase exercise intensity drastically. If you want to increase the intensity, do it gradually. Also, don't forget to warm up sufficiently before exercise and stretch or cool down afterwards.

Muscle Pain After Exercise To Watch Out For

DOMS is a normal, temporary reaction, but muscle pain must still be distinguished from serious muscle injury. Immediately consult a doctor if there are severe complaints, such as:

• Unbearable pain.
• Severe muscle swelling.
• Muscle becomes difficult or can not be moved at all after exercising.
• Discoloration of urine becomes dark.
• Muscle pain does not decrease at all for more than a week.

If you experience these complaints after exercising, you should immediately consult a doctor to get further treatment.