If exercise is part of your daily routine, surely at some point you had to deal with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, also known as DOMS. This muscle pain occurs because of the micro-breaks of muscle fibres and can become very annoying during the day and hinder your training. Although DOMS can be a bit difficult to relieve, there are some natural remedies and steps you can take into account to get rid of DOMS quickly and recover sooner than you thought. Keep reading because in this OneHowTo article we explain everything you need to know how to deal with those muscle aches.
DOMS refers to the muscle soreness you feel after working out. This happens because of micro injuries that occur in the muscles during physical training or during an activity involving overexertion. DOMS is the natural ability to wear down the body, and it must be healed with good food and rest so that the fibres are rebuilt.
There are many remedies to contemplate but let's start with the basics: prevention. First, it is important not to give everything up in the early days, it is best to go slowly getting used to the new activity. If you are new to the gym and the first day you start working out very hard, it is possible that you'll experience very serious DOMS the next day. This soreness can be very painful and put you off training the next time. Therefore, it is essential that you take it slowly and you start with simple exercises. Note that you might still experience DOMS even if you haven't done a lot of exercise. However, this experience won't be too painful and you'll be able to get rid of it with the tips in this article.
The tips in this article will make your discomfort more bearable. Obviously, none of these tricks are magical and they will take away the pain instantly, but they will help to relax your muscles and speed up the recovery process.
Water with lemon and sugar. This is a very simple and easy homemade trick. Add some sugar and a few drops of lemon juice to a glass of water. Stir and then it's ready to drink. This remedy helps the circulation of blood in your muscle fibres, which will help you recover faster.
Shower with warm water. The use of hot water in the affected area accompanied by a small massage to activate blood circulation can help reduce muscle soreness. And to reduce inflammation, end the shower applying cold water on painful areas.
Massage with lavender oil. Aromatherapy and essential oils have a relaxing effect which comes in handy for your muscles and relieve discomfort after exercise. In this case, you have to mix oil with drops of essential oils like lavender and then massage the area gently so that the product can be fully absorbed.
Foods that are rich in magnesium. Eating more foods with a high content of magnesium will help you recover before because the muscles need this nutrient to return to normal. Some of the ingredients rich in this mineral that you can easily incorporate into your diet are nuts, green vegetables like chard and spinach, fruits such as apricots, avocados and papayas, soybeans and cereals.
Respect rest time. It has always been said that the best thing to ger rid of DOMS is to do lots of sport. This theory is wrong, since no muscle tears heal quickly by simply training the next day and embracing all the pain. If you do this you will make the recovery happen more slowly. It is recommended to withhold the muscles that have exercised for at least one day. After this time you can continue doing moderate physical exercise until you completely recover.
If the pain is unbearable you can also take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Drugs like ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminopehn can help you relieve sore muscles. However, don't use them for more than a couple of days as they might hinder the body's ability to self recover the muscles. Taking medicines to get rid of DOMS should only be considered as a last resort.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
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