Who on earth is DOMS?

You’ve finished a great workout and the next day, your body feels like it hit the wall. Don’t panic, it’s normal - its DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

DOMS is the result of micro trauma to the muscle fibers. To gain strength, you need to break down existing muscle structure to create bigger, stronger, faster and more elastic, more capable muscles. That happen when you

meet DOMS. It’s generally noticed 24 hours post workout and can subside within 72 hours.

Don’t stress, there are some ways to find relief from it.

Best one is – get back on track. You should continue to exercise after

24-48 hours of rest to get the positive adaptive changes in the structure of your muscles rather then taking a whole week off – only, because it hurts.

Another good way to relieve the pain is to give your muscles some icy treatment within the first 24 hours after exercising. Some people prefer hot instead, but icing the sore muscles straight after your workout usually will give you a good result.

To promote blood flow to the damaged muscles a massage is also a great relieve for your DOMS aching your body.

You also should spend a bit more time on preparation work before you jump straight onto your workout. This way, you make sure DOMS will later not hitting you to hard. Warm your muscles up before each training session and make sure to stretch after you finished.

DOMS isn’t the bad guy. DOMS is the good pain! Only if pain persists longer than 72 hours after you’ve been exercising it may indicates something more serious.

Then it’s time to see your physiotherapist.