Muscle soreness (soreness) is a problem for every sports enthusiast and professional athlete. Muscle soreness all over the body after exercise will not only make the body tired, but also affect the performance of sports. Therefore, it is very important to effectively relieve muscle soreness, but how to do it? What can I do to improve the symptoms of muscle soreness? This article will introduce 5 major methods to help you relieve the discomfort of muscle soreness, and say goodbye to the trouble of muscle soreness!
What is Muscle Soreness? How is it different from a muscle strain?
The symptoms of muscle soreness and muscle strain have many similarities, so many people confuse the two, but the two have different effects on the body and improvement methods. You must find out whether you have a muscle strain or a muscle soreness. Effectively relieve symptoms.
Muscle ache:
It is mainly due to slight muscle injuries caused by exercise training, causing muscle discomfort. Usually, the symptoms will appear the day after the exercise. The muscles will feel sore and tense, which will disappear after about a week. These slight muscle injuries are weight loss. After training, the key to muscle growth.
Muscle strain:
Strain is a symptom that will appear immediately after exercise. According to the degree of muscle injury, it can be divided into mild, moderate and severe strain. In addition to the symptoms of soreness, muscle strain will also be accompanied by tingling, inflammation and weakness. Symptoms, discomfort can last for more than a week.
Muscle soreness can be relieved by massage and ice compresses. Massage or massage is not recommended for muscle strain. It is best to consult a doctor for professional treatment.
What Are the Causes of Muscle Soreness?
There are many reasons for muscle soreness, including bad living habits (posture, diet), standing for a long time at work, sedentary, psychological stress and diligent exercise, etc., all of which can cause muscle soreness. This is also one of the warning signs for good and bad in the body.
In order not to affect daily life, understand the causes of muscle soreness and how to relieve them. According to different causes, muscle soreness can be divided into two categories: acute muscle soreness and delayed onset muscle soreness. The causes of the two are introduced below.
1. Acute Muscle Soreness
Acute muscle soreness is muscle soreness that occurs during or immediately after exercise. The main reason is that during intense exercise, a large amount of lactic acid is produced by metabolism but cannot be eliminated smoothly, resulting in muscle fatigue and stiffness. Usually, it can be fully recovered after stopping exercise for a period of time .
2. Delayed onset muscle soreness
Delayed onset muscle soreness occurs because of subtle damage to muscle fibers or connective tissue, usually due to eccentric muscle contraction, which causes muscle inflammation and a sore, stiff feeling, usually because muscles that are not frequently trained are used during exercise. Or caused by a sudden increase in exercise volume and exercise intensity, the soreness will last for about 3 to 5 days.
When the body has muscle soreness, it means that the muscles have achieved the effect of exercise. In the process of repairing muscle damage, the body will become stronger, so there is no need to reject the symptoms of muscle soreness too much, but for athletes or those who like sports For most people, muscle soreness will affect their sports performance. If you need to exercise frequently, you must use massage, ice packs or hot packs to speed up the relief of muscle soreness.
Breaking down the 3 myths of muscle soreness
1. Is muscle soreness related to lactic acid accumulation?
When it comes to muscle soreness, most people will associate it with the accumulation of lactic acid. However, according to research, after the human body exercises, the lactic acid in the blood will return to normal levels within 1 hour. Therefore, there is no difference between lactic acid accumulation and delayed onset muscle soreness. relation.
2. The more sore the muscles, the better the training effect?
Although muscle soreness is related to muscle growth, the degree of soreness is not completely positively related to the training results. If the muscle adaptability and physical condition are not good, the degree of muscle soreness will also increase.
3. The more sore the muscles are, can I continue to train?
As long as the soreness does not seriously affect the training, you can continue to exercise in the case of muscle soreness, but the muscles are mainly growing during the repair process, so proper rest is also very important. It is recommended for people who train frequently to stagger different exercises Muscle groups, ensure that the muscles get adequate rest, and improve the training effect.
5 ways to relieve muscle soreness, say goodbye to muscle soreness
1. Cold therapy and ice compress relieve muscle inflammation
Many people have doubts about whether to apply ice packs or heat packs first after exercise. The correct method is to use ice packs to relieve symptoms, and then heat packs to increase muscle recovery. Ice compresses after exercise can constrict blood vessels, reduce muscle swelling and inflammation, and accelerate the repair of muscle tissue. Some athletes also use cold water therapy or freezing chambers to quickly recover from muscle damage.
2. Hot compress for sore muscles: Accelerate blood circulation
Don’t apply hot compresses immediately after muscle soreness. Hot compresses are suitable for use after the soreness is slightly relieved. It is recommended to start hot compresses 1 to 2 days after exercise, which can dilate blood vessels, accelerate blood circulation, and expel substances that inflame muscles. Help muscle repair.
In addition, hot compresses for sore muscles can also relieve pain, just like women doing menstrual pains with hot compresses can relieve abdominal discomfort. As long as the hot compress tool can fit the muscles, the heat can be distributed evenly to the muscles!
【Reminder】
It should be noted that no matter whether it is hot compress or ice compress, it is recommended to wrap a towel on the outer layer when using ice packs, hot water packs, or hot towels, so as to avoid direct contact with the skin and cause secondary damage, and pay attention to the time of hot compress and cold compress for muscle soreness, not too long.
3. Aerobic exercise speeds up muscle recovery
Why do you need to move your body when your muscles are already sore?
If it is because of muscle soreness, passively waiting for the pain to end is less helpful to relieve muscle soreness. It is recommended to engage in low-intensity aerobic exercise to help blood circulation. Accelerates blood flow throughout the muscles.
Low-intensity aerobic exercise includes: jogging, cycling, and regular swinging of arms and thighs. When the blood flow of muscles increases, it can increase the oxygen content of muscle cells, accelerate the speed of muscle recovery, and effectively relieve muscle soreness.
【Reminder】
When the soreness is so severe that it is difficult to even move, take a short break to give the muscles enough time to recover!
4. Supplement the nutrients needed for muscle repair
If the body lacks protein, potassium and other nutrients that help muscle contraction and repair, it will increase the time for muscle repair, and a more active recovery method, supplementing enough water every day can also maintain the efficiency of body metabolism and improve the body’s self-repair function.
What to Eat for Muscle Soreness? Please refer to the nutritional list below:
1. Foods containing protein: eggs, chicken, beef
2. Foods high in potassium and zinc: amaranth, seaweed, black beans, cashew nuts
3. Dark green and yellow fruits and vegetables
4. Rich in vitamin C: guava, kiwi fruit, papaya
In addition, don’t forget to add carbohydrates, especially after exercise, choose whole wheat toast instead of white toast with high sugar content, so that carbohydrates can replenish the fuel lost by muscles!
【Reminder】
When eating too much high-fried food, the risk of cardiovascular disease will also affect the body’s metabolism and muscle recovery!
5. Help the muscles stretch slightly
Like aerobic exercise, it is mainly in a “slight” way, which helps the body’s mobility not to be restricted by muscle soreness.
So how can it be called slight? When you feel a little tightness when stretching, you can stay for about 10 seconds and then retract it. Don’t deliberately stretch beyond the range that muscle soreness can bear in order to enhance flexibility.
6. Deep Tissue Massage
Massage is the most direct way to relieve muscle soreness. It can soften tight muscle tissue and relieve sore symptoms. However, general massage can only affect superficial muscles. If you want to accelerate the speed of deep muscle repair, you must rely on deep tissue massage . Deep tissue massage used to require a masseur and a physical therapist, but now the average person can perform a deep tissue massage at home by using a muscle relaxation gun.