Exercising with muscle soreness: is it good?
A return to sport after a long period of inactivity, an intensive training, a painful awakening… and the body is sore. The question is: “ Should I start exercising again right away, or rest? “. Some will answer you by telling you that you have to cure like with like and that you have to do sport to relieve aches and pains. Others will advise rest. Who should you listen to?
Where do muscle soreness come from after exercise?
To better decide, let us analyze the phenomenon of body aches in detail. Muscle aches are a muscle inflammation due to the elimination of accumulated waste during exercise. The pain is not caused by lactic acid, as was long believed, but by a muscle inflammation due to the elimination of accumulated waste during exercise. This step is necessary to strengthen the muscle: repairing these tears helps build new muscle tissue. “The elimination of waste and the reconstruction of damaged elements in muscle cells are what cause pain,” explains the Pasteur Institute of Lille (source 1).
In case of muscle soreness, the intensity of the pain varies, but more the effort is unusual relative to your physical condition, the greater the muscle pain will be.
How long does muscle soreness last?
Muscle soreness does not appear immediately after physical exertion, but usually between ten o'clock and two days later. Muscle soreness usually lasts for a few days; it can sometimes last up to six days, but rarely more than a week.
How to continue training when you have muscle aches?
He is possible to do sports, even if you have muscle aches, but not just anyhow.
If you have muscle soreness but are not impaired in your daily life, then it is safe to continue with physical activity and the program you have established, says sports medicine physician Dr. David Levine.
Exercise helps stimulate blood circulation, which can be beneficial for healing muscle soreness. “On the other hand, I have very severe muscle soreness that prevents me from walking, I will avoid resuming physical activity right away.” If the pain is severe and the body is nothing more than a giant muscle soreness, It is better to let the muscle rest for at least a day before the new sports session. Indeed, following up with sports could aggravate the micro-tears and make the situation worse.
Running or cycling is possible, but in moderation.
In the presence of muscle aches, active recovery may be consideredbut at a moderate level : a little running or cycling can help the day after a marathon, for example. But be sure to do not exceed twenty minutes of exercisejust enough time to restart the oxygenation of cells and the repair of muscle tissue.
Differentiating Muscle Soreness from Muscle Injury
“You have to be careful to distinguish between aches and pains muscle injuries “, warns Dr. Levine. “Soreness is pain that typically occurs 24 to 48 hours after activity, while muscle injury stops me during physical effort, regardless of the severity of the injury.”
How to make muscle soreness go away faster?
THE rest the painful area must remain the first reflex. The best solution to avoid suffering after a sports session is to prevent muscle soreness starting slowly and increasing the intensity as you go.
Other techniques can speed recovery.
The most important thing is to optimize recovery. Dr. David Levine, sports medicine physician.
For this, we recommend:
- Stay well hydrated (drink at least 1.5 liters per day);
- Eat well;
- Stretch;
- Observe recovery times adapted to physical activity;
- To rest ;
- Put on compression stockings (or recovery stockings) immediately after physical activity;
- Getting a massage…
“To help the wound heal, you can apply a heating patch on the sore area. In fact, heat helps increase blood flow in tissues that have undergone inflammation and accelerates muscle healing,” also advises the Pasteur Institute of Lille.
In case of fever, of unusual fatigue and of headacheconsult a doctor.