Why do your muscles ache the day or two after you work out hard? This feeling is very common. It’s called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. It’s not the pain you feel during exercise. It’s the pain that shows up later. It happens when you do new exercises, work out harder than usual, or do movements that lengthen a muscle while it’s under stress. How long does this soreness last? Usually, it gets better on its own in a few days, typically within 24 to 72 hours after the activity. This muscle soreness after workout is a sign your body is starting to get stronger.
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Explaining Delayed Soreness
The muscle pain after exercise that comes later is DOMS. It doesn’t hit right away. You might feel fine right after you finish exercising. But hours later, or maybe even a full day later, your muscles start to feel sore and stiff. This is what we mean by Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It’s a normal part of exercising, especially when you try something new.
This muscle soreness after workout is different from sharp, sudden pain you might feel during exercise. That kind of pain can mean you pulled or strained something right away. DOMS is a dull, aching feeling. It makes your muscles feel tender to touch. It can also make it hard to move as easily as before.
Grasping the Cause: Why Muscles Get Hurt
When you exercise, especially with weights or movements like running downhill or jumping, your muscles work hard. Sometimes, the work is harder than your muscles are used to. This hard work can cause tiny damage in the muscle fibers. Think of your muscle like a rope made of many smaller threads. Hard exercise can cause some of these tiny threads to get tiny breaks or tears. These are called micro-tears muscle.
This idea is called exercise induced muscle damage. It sounds scary, but it’s usually not. It’s a normal part of how muscles adapt and get stronger. The tiny damage is the signal your body needs to start a repair job. The soreness you feel is part of this repair process.
How Movement Causes Tiny Damage
Not all exercise causes DOMS the same way. Some types are more likely to cause it. Movements where your muscle gets longer while it’s still working hard are big culprits. Scientists call these “eccentric” movements.
Think about:
* Walking downhill (your leg muscles lengthen as they control your speed).
* Lowering a weight slowly (like slowly lowering a dumbbell after lifting it).
* Running.
* Jumping.
* Doing the lowering part of a squat or push-up.
These actions put a lot of stress on the muscle fibers as they stretch under load. This stress can lead to those tiny micro-tears muscle that start the process leading to DOMS. Even if you are fit, doing a new type of exercise or changing how you do an exercise can cause DOMS.
Deciphering the Process: How Your Body Fixes Things
Once those tiny micro-tears muscle happen, your body sees them as something that needs fixing. This starts the muscle repair process. Your body has an amazing system for this. The soreness you feel is not just the tears themselves. It’s the body’s reaction to the damage and its effort to repair it.
The First Steps: Getting Ready
Right after the tiny damage occurs, your body sends signals to the area. These signals bring special cells and substances to the injured spot. This is the start of inflammation after exercise.
Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury. It’s a sign that healing is beginning. The signs of inflammation can include:
* Swelling (though this might be very slight and not easily seen).
* Heat around the muscle.
* Redness (harder to see deep in muscles).
* Pain or soreness (this is the DOMS feeling).
* Sometimes, it’s harder to use the muscle fully.
This inflammation after exercise helps to clean up the damaged bits of muscle fiber. It also signals other cells to come and start rebuilding. It’s a necessary step in the muscle repair process.
The Repair Crew Arrives
After the clean-up starts, your body sends in the “repair crew.” This includes different types of cells. Some cells help clear away the damaged material. Others are special muscle stem cells, called satellite cells.
These satellite cells are like building blocks waiting on the sidelines. When there’s muscle damage, they become active. They go to the site of the micro-tears muscle.
Fixing the Hurt Spots
The satellite cells start to multiply. Then, they fuse together with the existing muscle fibers. They help to fix the tears. They also add new protein structures to the muscle.
This process does more than just fix the damage. It also makes the muscle fibers stronger and a bit bigger. This is how your muscles adapt to exercise. They repair the tiny damage and build themselves up so they can handle that level of stress better next time. This is a key part of building strength and getting fitter.
The soreness is a side effect of this whole complex process:
1. Exercise causes micro-tears muscle.
2. Body starts inflammation after exercise to clean up and signal repair.
3. Satellite cells and other cells come to the damaged area.
4. Cells work to repair the micro-tears muscle and build new muscle parts.
5. This repair and building process causes the feeling of muscle pain after exercise, which is DOMS.
What the Soreness Feels Like
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness feels different for everyone. It also depends on how hard you worked out and what type of exercise you did.
Common feelings of DOMS include:
* Muscles feel tender or sore to touch.
* An aching or burning feeling in the muscles.
* Stiffness, making it hard to move the affected body part through its full range.
* Muscles might feel weaker than usual.
* You might feel a bit shaky in the sore muscles.
This muscle soreness after workout usually starts 12 to 24 hours after exercise. It often feels the worst 24 to 72 hours after exercise. After that peak, the feeling slowly starts to fade away.
How Long Does Soreness Stay?
This is a common question people ask about DOMS. How long does DOMS last? The good news is it doesn’t last forever. For most people, the worst of the muscle pain after exercise is over within 3 to 5 days.
Here is a general timeline:
* 0-12 hours after exercise: You might feel fine or just a little tired.
* 12-24 hours after exercise: The soreness often starts to creep in. It might feel mild at first.
* 24-72 hours after exercise: This is usually the peak time for DOMS. The muscle soreness after workout is likely the strongest now. Movement can feel stiff and painful.
* 3-5 days after exercise: The soreness usually starts to decrease. You might still feel it a little, but it’s getting better.
* 5-7 days after exercise: Most of the soreness should be gone. Your muscles should feel mostly back to normal.
How long DOMS lasts can depend on several things:
* How new the exercise was: Doing a completely new movement often causes more and longer-lasting DOMS.
* How hard you worked: Very intense workouts lead to more soreness.
* Your fitness level: People new to exercise often feel more DOMS. But even very fit people get it when they change their routine or push harder.
* How you recover: Good post-workout recovery can help manage the symptoms and maybe shorten the time it lasts.
Soreness or a Real Problem? Muscle Strain vs Soreness
It’s important to know the difference between normal muscle soreness after workout (DOMS) and a more serious muscle strain vs soreness. While DOMS is part of the body adapting, a muscle strain is an injury.
Here’s how to tell them apart:
| Feature | Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) | Muscle Strain |
|---|---|---|
| When it starts | Hours or a day after exercise. | Often starts during the exercise. |
| Type of pain | Dull ache, stiffness, tenderness. | Sharp, sudden pain. Can feel like a pop or tear. |
| Location | Feels spread out across the muscle or muscle group. | Often focused in one specific spot. |
| Impact on movement | Muscles feel stiff, movement can be uncomfortable. | Significant pain when trying to use the injured muscle. May struggle to move it at all. |
| Swelling/Bruising | Usually little to no visible swelling or bruising. | Can have clear swelling, bruising, or redness right away or soon after. |
| Weakness | Muscles might feel temporarily weaker. | Muscle is noticeably weak, or you can’t use it at all. |
| Feeling of “gap” | No feeling of a gap in the muscle. | Sometimes you might feel a gap or dent in the muscle where it tore. |
Normal muscle soreness after workout is uncomfortable, but you can usually still move the muscle. It might be stiff, but you can do everyday things, just maybe slower. A muscle strain often causes sharp pain that stops you from using the muscle normally. If you feel a sudden, sharp pain during exercise, or if the pain is severe, focused in one spot, or you see swelling or bruising, it’s more likely a strain. You should rest and perhaps see a doctor if the pain is bad or doesn’t get better quickly.
Helping Your Muscles Feel Better: Post-Workout Recovery
While DOMS is normal, it doesn’t feel good. Luckily, there are things you can do for post-workout recovery to help ease the muscle pain after exercise and feel better faster. These methods help support your body’s natural muscle repair process.
Simple Ways to Help
- Rest: Give the sore muscles time to recover. Avoid working the same muscle group intensely while it’s very sore. Light activities are often fine, though.
- Gentle Movement: It might seem strange, but light, easy movement can help. This could be a short walk, gentle cycling, or easy stretching. This increases blood flow to the muscles, which can help bring nutrients for repair and remove waste products. Just don’t push into deep, painful stretches or hard exercise.
- Heat or Cold: Some people find heat helps loosen up stiff muscles. A warm bath or a heating pad might feel good. Others find cold helps reduce inflammation and dull the pain. An ice pack (wrapped in a cloth) on the sore area for 15-20 minutes can be helpful. Try what works best for you.
- Massage: Gentle massage might help some people feel better by increasing blood flow and helping the muscles relax. You can do it yourself or get a professional massage. Foam rolling can also be a type of self-massage. Go gently on very sore areas.
- Listen to Your Body: Don’t try to do another hard workout on very sore muscles. This can make things worse or lead to injury.
What to Eat and Drink
Eating the right things helps your body with the muscle repair process.
* Protein: Muscles are made of protein. Eating enough protein gives your body the building blocks it needs to fix the micro-tears muscle and build new muscle tissue. Good sources include lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils, and plant-based protein powders. Try to have protein after your workout and throughout the day.
* Carbohydrates: These give your body energy. They also help protein get into your muscles. Having carbs along with protein after exercise is a good idea.
* Water: Staying well-hydrated is important for all your body’s processes, including muscle recovery. Drink water before, during, and after exercise.
Sleep is Key
While you are sleeping, your body is busy repairing and rebuilding tissue. This is when a lot of the important muscle repair process happens. Getting enough quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for post-workout recovery and reducing muscle soreness after workout. Aim for 7-9 hours each night.
Making Soreness Less Strong
While you can’t always avoid DOMS completely when trying new things, you can often make it less severe. The key is to let your body get used to the exercise slowly.
Start Slow
If you are new to an exercise or haven’t done it in a while, start easy. Don’t try to do too much weight or too many repetitions on the first day.
* Use lighter weights.
* Do fewer reps or sets.
* Run or walk shorter distances.
* Keep the intensity lower.
This lets your muscles get a feel for the movement without causing too much initial damage. You can gradually add more weight, reps, time, or intensity in future workouts. This is called progressive overload. It helps your muscles adapt over time, making the DOMS less intense as you get fitter.
Before and After Exercise
- Warm-up: Spend 5-10 minutes doing light activity before your main workout. This gets blood flowing to your muscles and prepares them for work. Things like light jogging, cycling, or dynamic stretches (moving stretches) are good.
- Cool-down: After your workout, do 5-10 minutes of light activity or static stretching (holding stretches). This can help bring your heart rate down slowly and might help your muscles feel better, although research on stretching preventing DOMS is mixed. It’s still a good practice for flexibility.
How Soreness Helps You Get Stronger
Feeling sore might not be fun, but DOMS is a sign that your body is doing what it needs to do to adapt and become stronger. The muscle repair process fixes the micro-tears muscle and builds the muscle fibers back thicker and stronger than before. This adaptation means that the next time you do that same exercise at the same intensity, you should have less DOMS. Your muscles are more prepared for the work.
This cycle of stress (exercise), damage (micro-tears muscle), repair (muscle repair process), and adaptation is how we build muscle strength and endurance. So, while uncomfortable, muscle pain after exercise from DOMS is often a sign of progress. It shows you challenged your muscles in a way that will help them improve.
It’s important to listen to your body. Some soreness is okay. But if you are always getting severe, lasting DOMS, it might mean you are pushing too hard, too fast. Finding the right balance is key to making progress safely and consistently. Proper post-workout recovery plays a huge role in this balance.
Questions Many People Ask
Here are some common questions about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness and muscle pain after exercise.
H4: Can I work out if I have DOMS?
It depends on how sore you are. Mild to moderate DOMS usually doesn’t stop you from exercising a different muscle group. For the sore muscles, light exercise, like a walk or gentle cycling, can actually help you feel better by increasing blood flow. Avoid doing another hard workout on the exact same very sore muscles. This can make the damage worse and slow down recovery. Rest is often best for the most affected muscles until the worst soreness goes away.
H4: Does stretching help with DOMS?
Research isn’t totally clear on whether stretching prevents DOMS or makes it go away faster. Stretching can feel good when your muscles are stiff, and it’s good for flexibility. Gentle stretching might help ease the feeling of tightness. But don’t force stretches on very sore muscles, as this could cause further damage.
H4: Do ice baths or cold showers help?
Some athletes use cold therapy, like ice baths, for post-workout recovery. The idea is that the cold helps reduce inflammation after exercise. Some studies show it might slightly reduce the feeling of soreness for some people. Others don’t find it helps much. It’s a personal choice. If you try it, be careful not to stay in too long, as it can be harmful.
H4: Should I take pain relievers for DOMS?
Over-the-counter pain medicines like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) can help reduce the pain and inflammation after exercise from DOMS. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help with pain but not inflammation. Using them occasionally to help you feel more comfortable is generally okay. However, relying on them regularly might mask pain that signals something is wrong. Also, some research suggests that completely stopping inflammation might slightly slow down the long-term muscle adaptation process, as inflammation is part of the repair. Use them as needed, but maybe not before every workout.
H4: Does DOMS mean I had a good workout?
DOMS is a sign that you challenged your muscles in a new or more intense way. It means you caused exercise induced muscle damage, which is the signal for your muscles to adapt and get stronger. So, in that sense, yes, it can be a sign of an effective workout, especially if you are trying to improve. However, you don’t have to get severe DOMS to have a good workout or make progress. As your body adapts, you might get less DOMS even from hard workouts. Lack of DOMS doesn’t mean the workout wasn’t good.
H4: Why do I get DOMS in weird places?
DOMS happens in the muscles you worked hard. If you did an exercise for the first time or in a new way, you might feel soreness in muscles you didn’t expect. For example, your core muscles might be sore after trying a new weightlifting exercise because they worked hard to keep you stable. Walking downhill might make your quads (front of thighs) very sore because of the eccentric work. Pay attention to which muscles are sore; it tells you which ones did a lot of work during your exercise.
H4: Can I prevent DOMS completely?
You can reduce the severity of DOMS by starting new exercises slowly and gradually increasing intensity. Warming up and cooling down may also help. But if you are consistently challenging your muscles to get stronger, you might still experience some level of muscle pain after exercise, especially when changing your routine. Complete prevention isn’t always possible or even desired, as some muscle stress is needed for adaptation.
H4: Is DOMS necessary to build muscle?
No, you don’t need crippling DOMS to build muscle or get stronger. While DOMS is a sign of exercise induced muscle damage that can lead to growth, you can make progress with less or even no soreness. Consistent training, proper progressive overload (gradually increasing challenge), good nutrition (especially protein), and sufficient rest are the main drivers of muscle growth and strength gains. Severe DOMS just means you caused a bit more micro-tears muscle than your body is currently used to. It’s not a required marker of an effective workout every time.
H4: Can I shorten how long DOMS lasts?
Good post-workout recovery practices can help manage the symptoms of DOMS and might help your body recover a little faster. This includes getting enough sleep, eating well (especially protein), staying hydrated, and doing gentle movement or light massage. While you can’t instantly turn off the muscle repair process, supporting your body helps it do its job efficiently. How long does DOMS last is largely determined by the extent of the initial exercise induced muscle damage and your body’s natural healing speed.