Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness - DOMS 101
Does this sound familiar?
An actual message between a client and myself recently after a leg training session!
Ever felt that muscle pain 24-72 hours after a workout? That will likely be delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS for short.
What is it? It is exercise-related muscle pain, the sore, aching feeling in your muscles after exercise.
What causes it? It is due to microscopic tears in your muscle fibres. The body responds to this damage by initiating inflammation; which results in pain.
When does it happen? Any exercise can cause DOMS, however, it is more intense with eccentric muscle action - this is the lengthening portion of repetition (in a bicep curl, where you lower the weight back down to your side from your shoulder). Walking/running down hills, step class, jumping and running can also cause DOMS.
Can it be prevented? Sure, just don’t do anything new or hard! Seriously though, you probably can't totally avoid it. Taking time to progress slowly is smart and will prevent ‘overdoing it’ which may leave you incapable of moving for 3 days. Beginners will likely feel DOMS more frequently than those that are experienced because as you adapt to particular movements and loads DOMS typically lessens. Easing the symptoms is also really down to pain management and won’t speed up muscle repair.
Is it the only sign of a good workout? NO! I hear many people think that the only measure of a good hard workout is how sore they are. NOT TRUE. Your body is simply adapting - this is a GOOD thing. A single bout of exercise-inducing soreness will protect you from subsequent DOMS in that same activity.
However, if you are never sore, it could that you aren’t pushing yourself enough either.
How to deal with it? Take it easy for the following day or two if DOMS is severe. If you feel like it will negatively impact a training session during recovery, consider pushing back your sessions a day or two until you are better recovered. In the meantime though, keep active with walking and gentle movement to keep the blood flowing to help the repair processes.
Takeaway: DOMS is not the only indication of a good workout or positive progress. It isn’t totally preventable. Look for progress in other ways; such as your effort, your training volume, weight lifted, reps, sets, improving your form etc. Consider rescheduling training if DOMS will impact your ability to perform with good technique.
