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Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is the ache
or discomfort often felt 24 to 76 hours after exercising and subsides
usually within 2 to 3 days. Once thought to be caused by lactic
acid buildup, a more recent theory is that it is caused by tiny
tears in the muscle fibers caused by odd movements, or unaccustomed
training levels.
More recent research (Ji-Guo Yu) claims that
DOMS is not caused by the pain from damaged muscle cells, but
from the strengthening process. The muscle responds to training
by reinforcing itself up to and above the previous strength by
adding new sarcomeres - the segments in the muscle fibrils.
This strengthening process causes the cells to
swell, and put pressure on to nerves and arteries, causing the
DOMS.Training does not make an existing DOMS worse, because the
strengthening process is already underway.To lessen pain after
exercise thorough warming up is required. Warmer muscles are more
supple and less prone to damage.
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