Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
The Post-Exercise Muscles Effect
You ever go back to your workout spot to get jacked up once again after a long break and experiencing this sharp pain and swelling in your muscle? That's DOMS. Although you may not have given it a thought or you attributed it to the day's workout, you’ve experienced DOMS.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), also known as Postexercise Muscle soreness is pain caused by disruption or injury to your muscles. DOMS results from muscle overuse during activities that stress the muscle more than usual or a regular muscular activity extended for a long period. It is characterized by pain, soreness, reduced muscle function, swelling, and stiff or tender muscle spasms.
When Do I Experience DOMS?
You may experience DOMS after the following events:
After trying out a new exercise
Lifting your regular types of weights after taking a long break from a workout
Working out immediately without a proper warm-up session
Going beyond your limits during exercise
And even doing any strenuous muscular activity other than exercise that your body is not accustomed to.
Who can get DOMS?
From a pro athlete to a fresh newbie, anyone can get DOMS. So, don’t get yourself worked out on the first day of gym. You can't get the 6 packs over a day's workout session (it takes consistency).
What to do when you have DOMS
DOMS can be very painful, and even scary when you experience it for the first time, especially when you begin to see your biceps grow larger than usual 😱. There’s nothing to be scared about. The general remedy for DOMS is rest. You may however massage the affected muscle gently or apply pressure on it with an ice block to reduce the pain and swelling. Over-the-counter NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen are not an exception though, but you must be careful with the dose you take. You begin to experience DOMS 12 - 24 hours after a workout and it may take 2 - 3 days for you to be free from it once again. However, if the pain takes more than a week and you begin to experience strange symptoms in your body, you may need to see a doctor.
When to be afraid of DOMS
DOMS may appear harmless if you’ve constantly experienced it without any further issues, but when the pain extends beyond 7 days, something is definitely wrong somewhere. It might have transitioned to Rhabdomyolysis. When your muscles are stressed to a very high intensity during exercise, the muscle tissues get severely damaged. Consequentially, intracellular materials in the muscles such as myoglobin may leak into unusual areas in the body, causing liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, heart attack, and in severe cases, death.
How do I know if it's Rhabdomyolysis?
Common symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include:
Extended DOMS pain experience
Darker urine
Numb and tingling feeling in your muscles
Severe swelling and pain in the affected area
If you begin to experience any of these symptoms, you should see your doctor ASAP!
How to prevent DOMS
Warming up before and after workout sessions are good ways to prevent DOMS. It is also advisable to take a cold or warm shower after workouts (as the spirit leads, 🫠). If you can, try self-massage on your muscles. It helps, 🙂.
Finally, DOMS should not be an excuse for you to stop working out. The irony of it is that the primary cause of your pain is also the solution to your problem. In case you did not get that, regular exercise also cures and prevents DOMS, but when done cautiously.
The abs won’t fix themselves there, so also the biceps and broad chest! Keep lifting those bars king, 💪. But lift with caution, ⚠️.