Soreness is considered normal if it occurs between 24-72 hours after a workout, and if it does not prevent you from completing normal daily activities. If it lasts longer than this, or is so intense that it prevents you from functioning normally, it could be a sign of significant damage.
It's not always a bad thing: Muscle soreness after exercise is part of the process of building stronger muscles. But it's important to notice when muscle pain is more severe or longer lasting than it should be. If home care doesn't relieve your myalgia, you might need medical care.
It's generally safe to workout when sore, but listen to your body. If the soreness is mild, proceed with a lighter intensity. If it's intense or affects your form, consider a rest day or focus on gentle stretching to aid recovery.
Sore muscles after exercise
It can affect people of all fitness levels, particularly after trying a new activity or pushing yourself a bit harder than usual. Usually your muscles will stop aching in 2 to 5 days and you won't need any medical attention. You should be able to ease symptoms yourself.
Get medical care right away or go to the emergency room if you have muscle pain with: Trouble breathing or dizziness. Extreme muscle weakness with problems doing routine daily activities. A high fever and stiff neck.
Pain will typically linger past three days and make it difficult to partake in normal, daily activities. “When soreness is accompanied by sharp pains or aches that continue to linger on after a few days, it may be cause for concern and time to see a physician,” says Rebound physical therapist Mike Baer.
Difficulty walking after leg day is often a result of microscopic muscle damage caused by intense exercise. Eccentric contractions, common in leg workouts, can lead to tiny tears in muscle fibers. The body's natural response includes inflammation, resulting in swelling and leg soreness.
Soreness is considered normal if it occurs between 24-72 hours after a workout, and if it does not prevent you from completing normal daily activities. If it lasts longer than this, or is so intense that it prevents you from functioning normally, it could be a sign of significant damage. I'm Sore: What should I do?
The most important thing to pay attention to is the kind of pain you're feeling. “A good indicator when it's OK to begin gentle stretching is when the pain in the injured area has shifted from sharp or stabbing to more of a soreness or stiffness,” says Coonan. “You shouldn't start until that happens.”
Hardwick says it's perfectly safe to exercise through the pain, though it's probably best to avoid the same movements that caused DOMS last time. “If you have this muscle soreness, don't do the same thing you did before,” Hardwick says. “Wait a couple of days before you go back to doing it.”
Simply put, the more you exercise, the greater your risk of getting hurt. That's just math. But it's more than that. Working out every day—especially engaging in the same types of workouts that target the same muscle groups—means you're stressing your muscles and joints and not giving them time to rest and recover.
But most people should aim for 1 to 3 rest days per week. You can use your rest days to support recovery by doing light exercise and working on mobility. Your workout schedule may not always go as planned. So listen to your body and take a rest day when you feel depleted or have unusual aches and pains.
Many people experience acute muscle stiffness because of: Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), muscle pain and temporary inflammation that develops after an intense workout. Insect bites or stings.
Wound pain can be caused by skin damage, nerve damage, blood vessel injury, infection and ischaemia.
Massage helps treat DOMS by decreasing muscle soreness. Muscle soreness is a symptom of DOMS. Small rips to the muscle fibers can cause inflammation and produce soreness. Massage can assist the healing of damaged fibers by increasing blood circulation.
"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
Flex Your Muscles Through Isometric Exercises
Isometrics can be beneficial if you are recovering from an injury because these exercises are low-intensity and you don't need to move any joints to flex your muscles. They also allow for strength training and help you boost your balance.
If Your Glutes Are Sore Are They Really Growing? The short answer in most scenarios is yes. If you are directly exercising your glutes and eating enough to fuel your training, then sore glutes are the price you pay for future growth.
Improved Muscle Strength
Muscle soreness is usually a sign of micro-tears in the muscle fibers. This is good because when these tears heal, your muscles become stronger and more resilient. Make the most of this benefit by gradually increasing the intensity of your exercises over time.
"DOMS involves a temporary inflammation around your overworked muscles, which is the reason for the soreness," she says. "As the hours pass, blood cells rush to the inflamed area to heal the soreness. So it's normal for that creaky can't-get-out-of-bed feeling to get worse before it gets better.
Moderate cardio after leg day can actually aid recovery by promoting blood flow. However, intense cardio sessions might hinder muscle growth if they deplete your energy reserves. To balance cardio and leg day: Keep post-leg day cardio light and short (15-20 minutes)