Darrick Robles It doesn’t matter whether you’re a hobby athlete or a professional – if you get back into sports after a long break, try a new sport or work out more than usual, you often suffer from sore muscles the next day. Here you can find out what sore muscles do to our bodies and what you can do to prevent sore muscles.
How sore muscles develop
Sore muscles are the result of overloading your muscles. Triggers for sore muscles are intense (more) stress during strength or endurance sports or movements that are unfamiliar to your body.
Sore muscles create small injuries in your stressed muscle fibers, which your body tries to heal. Water seeps into the tissue through the small tears in your muscle fibers and the muscle swells. The perceived muscle pain is colloquially referred to as sore muscles.
You usually only feel sore muscles a day or two after your workout, since your muscle fibers only swell very slowly from the penetrating water and you only notice the pain when the liquid presses on the tissue and nerves.
How long does a sore muscle last?
How long your sore muscles last depends on both your physical fitness and the severity of the soreness. Therefore, the sore muscles can be gone after just a few hours, but can also last for several days.
Over time, your muscles will get used to the strain, so after a few training sessions you will feel less or no muscle soreness.
Is sore muscles harmful?
Sore muscles are not harmful to your body. It is merely an indication that your muscles are being overworked and is usually relieved after a few days. However, while your muscles are sore, they are more prone to more severe secondary injuries.
However, if your muscle pain does not decrease within a day or you feel the pain permanently, you should consult a doctor. In this case, you may have sustained another injury (such as a torn or strained muscle fiber) that may need medical attention. ##Tips against sore muscles
To prevent or relieve muscle soreness, you can observe the following tips before and after exercising:
Warm up your muscles: Do a targeted warm-up for at least five to 10 minutes with moderate exercises and movements. This is how you prepare your muscles for the intense exercise. You should always select your warm-up exercises specifically for your sport and the muscles involved.
Cool-Down: Just like a targeted warm-up, a cool-down is also helpful to prevent sore muscles. But contrary to what the name suggests, you should never cool down your muscles during a cool-down. A more appropriate term is “warming down”. Simply slow down the pace of your movements and end your workout with light stretching exercises.
Increase your training slowly: To avoid sore muscles and not to overload your body in general, increase your training gradually from training to training so that your muscles can get used to the new load. Especially after a break from sports, you should start your first training session very carefully.
Stretch carefully: stretch your muscles only slightly before and after exercise: avoid intensive stretching exercises immediately and after exercise so as not to irritate your muscles. Light stretching, on the other hand, can have a beneficial effect on your recovery.
Get enough sleep: In order to promote your regeneration and prevent or relieve muscle soreness, you should sleep for at least 8 hours.
Warmth for muscles to regenerate: You can stimulate regeneration and blood flow in your body after exercise, e.g. B. promote with a warm shower or sauna.
Eat a balanced and nutritious diet: A conscious, vitamin-rich diet will help your body regenerate. You can find out more about nutrition in our article Healthy food for the immune system. As a normal athlete, you usually do not need food supplements. Some also swear by medicinal plant tinctures, herbal teas or fruit juices such as arnica oil, rosemary tea or cherry juice, which are said to support muscle regeneration – however, this is not sufficiently scientifically proven.
Avoid intense exertion if you have sore muscles
If you have severe muscle soreness, you should not train the affected muscles intensively. Instead, you should only move the muscles loosely. Do not engage the muscles again until the soreness has been relieved. However, you can sufficiently strain other muscle groups so that you don’t have to do without sport completely.
