Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

We have all had that feeling of an absolutely crushing a gym session, endorphins pumping and muscles feeling worked. The next day and into the day after, however, can have your muscles feeling like you have done something wrong! Muscle aches making even the simplest of tasks like getting up out of the chair feel like a challenging task.

You begin to question yourself “have I done something wrong?” “Will this pain ever go away?”

This is what’s known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which can kick in from as soon as six to eight hours post-exercise, and reaches it’s peak around the 48 hours post exercise, though there is much individual variation of this timeline. DOMS can occur anywhere in the body that has recently been exposed to unfamiliar or intense physical activity.

What is DOMS?

Delayed onset muscle soreness, aka DOMS, is stiffness and pain that you feel between 24 and 48 hours after doing high-intensity physical exercise that your body isn't accustomed to.

Why do we get DOMS?

But why am I getting punished for having a good training session where I pushed myself? Well, you aren’t necessarily being punished. DOMS can be a sign that you did something good during your workout. When you perform resistance training, you create micro-tears in your muscles, from here, they recover and become even stronger.

Wait, why does my soreness keeps getting worse!?

The feeling of DOMS typically rears up within 24 hours of your exercise session, and peaks at about the 48 hours mark. DOMS is all about blood flow and healing. DOMS involves a temporary inflammation around your overworked muscles, which is the reason for the soreness.

As the hours pass, blood cells rush to the inflamed area to heal the soreness. Unfortunately this feeling will get worse before it gets better. But after 48 hours, you're definitely on the road to recovery!

Can I work out with DOMS?

Sure you can! Doing gentle low-impact cardio like swimming is the best active recovery as well as light stretching or even a restorative yoga class.

Hope this helps give some more insight into the pain you may be experiencing after your workouts!