Do you do sports? You should, even if you are weak, exercise is essential for a healthy life. Many people come to the point where they repent of exercising again because of muscle pain after sports. Do not worry. Even professional athletes who dedicate their lives to it experience muscle soreness after exercise. Moreover, when inactive people start a new sport or do a physical activity that they are not accustomed to, muscle pain will be inevitable.
There are numerous causes of muscle soreness after physical activity and, in general, these pains tend to go away on their own, no matter how severe they are. However, keep in mind that some pain will be caused by injury. Natural muscle pain is usually nothing to worry about. Let’s take a closer look at what causes muscle pain and see what you should do before and after physical activity.
What causes muscle pain after sports?
- Exercising more often than usual
- Exercising at a higher than normal intensity
- Exercising for longer than usual
- Doing new exercises outside of routine
Here are the main reasons for experiencing muscle pain after sports or a different physical activity. The summary of all items actually means tiring your muscles as much as you are not used to. During physical activity, working muscles make stretching and contracting movements. When these movements are more intense than normal, muscle pain occurs.
When the muscle gets tired and cannot get enough oxygen, lactic acid accumulates in the area. However, contrary to popular belief, lactic acid is not the cause of muscle pain. The exact cause of muscle pain after physical activity, called post-onset muscle pain, is unknown. However, it is thought that the healing process after the muscles are damaged during activity may cause this pain.
So how long do these muscle pains last?
If we look at the study of the American College of Sports Medicine on the subject, muscle pain that occurs after physical activity begins to manifest itself within 12 – 24 hours after exercise. It peaks between 24 – 72 hours after it first appears. Depending on the intensity of the post-peak pain, it disappears suddenly or gradually on its own.
How do muscle pains occur after sports go away?
- Massage
- Heat therapy
- Cold therapy
- Cooling exercises
- Painkillers
Massage:
Massaging the aching muscles after sports is one of the most effective treatment methods against these pains. If there is extensive pain, a professional physical therapist may need to massage the area. However, if we are talking about smaller and regional pains, you can even massage yourself. As you massage, blood flow to the aching muscle group will increase and both healing will accelerate and pain will decrease.
Heat therapy:
Although it varies according to the type of pain, applying heat to the aching area is an effective method. Taking a warm bath or applying heat to that area will work. As that area warms up, blood flow will increase, the vessels will expand, and the pain will be greatly reduced.
Cold therapy:
Although it varies according to the type of pain, applying cold to the aching area is an effective method. Keeping cold water or putting ice on the area will work. Especially applying cold therapy to pain caused by injury will prevent inflammation and swelling.
Cooling down exercises:
Even if you do sports regularly, if you did a longer, more intense or different exercise than your normal routine that day, you should definitely do cool-down exercises afterwards. Cooling down exercises, which are similar to pre-sport warm-up exercises, will prevent pain by gradually removing the muscles from the intensity they are exposed to.
Painkillers:
First of all, never use drugs according to your mind. If you often suffer from such muscle pains, consult a specialist and use the drugs recommended by him. If there is a situation that needs to be resolved faster, at least ask the pharmacist to explain the situation and recommend a pain reliever that is free from side effects. Avoid using pain relievers regularly.
Things to consider before starting an exercise:
First of all, start by getting to know yourself. You know more or less what moves you can and cannot do. Don’t get involved in exercises that you can’t afford to get on the gas out of nowhere. Start with the lightest. Don’t worry, you will increase your training intensity over time.
Even if you do sports regularly, don’t start high-intensity exercise out of nowhere. Warm up well first and make sure your muscles are ready for exercise. Then start some light exercise such as walking and jogging. Increase the intensity step by step and see the peak. Don’t forget to rest between workouts. Finally, at the end of the training, gradually reduce the intensity that your muscles are exposed to by doing cool-down exercises.
It is recommended that everyone exercise 150 minutes a week for a healthy life. However, you don’t need to do all of this at once. Spread this time out on certain days of the week. Do not forget to rest for a day after a day of exercise. Try to exercise as long as you are sure that it works all your muscles but does not wear it out too much.
Does muscle pain after sports require medical attention?
After sports or an unfamiliar physical activity, muscle pain occurs within 24 hours at the latest and disappears on its own within 72 hours at the latest. However, sometimes this pain comes on suddenly and does not go away easily. Since these pains are caused by injury, medical intervention may be required.
First of all, recognize your pain and try to understand its relationship with the muscle you are working that day. You can understand a normal muscle pain for sure. Pain that is so severe that it is not a normal muscle pain can be such that it will even prevent you from sleeping. In such cases, immediately try the methods that are good for pain, respectively. If none of them works well and does not reduce your pain even a little, the situation may be much more serious. In such a case, you should go to the nearest health institution and be examined by a specialist doctor.
We talked about the details you need to know about the subject by answering questions such as why muscle pain occurs after sports or after an unfamiliar physical activity, what is good for muscle pain, what to do before and after sports. Remember that what we are telling you is for informational purposes only and you will get the most accurate information specific to you from your sports coach and doctor.
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