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(c) 1999, Kurt Ullman. All rights reserved.
As I approached my forty-fifth birthday, I began to realize that I was no longer the man I once was. I was about half again the man I once was. While I had no real desire to revisit the 165 lb. bean pole that graduated high school, I did figure there was a happy medium between my old Self and my current Self.
I had tried a number of weight loss techniques. The Harold Hill school of weight loss did not work (apparently thinking about exercising doesn’t work as well as thinking about playing music). I looked into the diet where digesting the foods you eat consumes more in calories than you get from eating them. Imagine my chagrin to find that Girl Scouts® cookies were not on the list of suitable foods.
Having exhausted all the other possibilities, I decided that I might have to break down and actually exercise.
So I started on my program that included some time on the treadmill, some sit-ups for my soon-to-be-rock-hard stomach and some weight lifting to add some definition to my chest. The first day went well, and I felt pretty good. The next day was quite another thing altogether as I was formally introduced to DOMS.
No, DOMS is not the name of my personal trainer. It stands for delayed-onset muscle soreness, those aches and pains that come about 24 hours or so after you do certain exercises.
Why does it hurt a day later?
“Acute muscle pain comes about almost immediately as the waste products from heavy exercise build up faster than they can be disposed of,” explains Henry N. Williford, Ed.D., FACSM, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Auburn University. “For twenty or thirty years we thought that DOMS was just a later version of that. The best answer we have now is that it is the result of microscopic damage to the muscle fibers themselves.”
The delayed soreness usually is the result of what is known as “eccentric” contractions of the muscles. These take place when the muscles are forcefully lengthened. They provide a braking action and often happen in activities such as slowly descending stairs, lowering weights or performing the downward movements of squats and push-ups. It is the result of the muscles fighting against gravity.
“The pulling and stretching of the muscle fibers in these eccentric contractions may cause small, microscopic tears in the muscles,” explains Dr. Williford. “In addition to the tearing, swelling and inflammation takes place in and around the muscle causing more soreness. The swelling may also cause pressure on structures nearby resulting in even more pain and some stiffness.”
This is a part of the adaptation process that eventually leads to greater strength once the muscles recover. Think of it as the muscular version of “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.”
Getting stronger without killing yourself
The old adage about starting low and going slow is important in the prevention of DOMS. You need to start new exercise programs at low levels of impact or weight or repetitions. Trying to do more than the muscles are ready to do is what causes the tears. The next step is to slowly increase the amount of stress you put on the muscles.
For example:
Weight
training
Begin with a weight that you can comfortably use to perform three sets
of ten repetitions and stay at that weight until you can do three sets
of fifteen repetitions. At the next workout, increase the weights to a
level where you can lift only the three sets of ten and
Walking
If you have been inactive and your goal is to walk three miles in 45
minutes, start by walking one mile. Then, if you have no problems, increase
the distance by a quarter mile to a half mile each day until you make it
to three miles. Then you can begin to increase your pace until you reach
your goal.
“We have no real, good data on whether such things as stretching or warming up do much to prevent DOMS,” notes Dr. Williford. “However, they certainly can’t hurt and are useful in the prevention of other kinds of injuries.”
Killing the pain
Well, I tried my best but I still had some soreness a day or two later. The best treatment is rest and letting the trauma heal. Most doctors suggest a pain reliever such as aspirin or ibuprofen. These not only serve to ease the pain, but also tend to lessen the inflammation around or in the muscles.
Other options include ice, light stretching of the muscles, or maybe a massage. A warm bath or whirlpool might also be useful, if only to help you feel more relaxed. Even untreated, the soreness usually goes away in three to seven days. Dr. Williford advises that if it lasts more than a week, a visit to your doctor is in order.
Give it a rest and get back into it.
If you do have an episode of DOMS, it is important to give it time to heal. It is even more important to begin exercising again as soon as you can, although at a lower level of intensity. If the muscle is not used soon, it might get injured again when your activity level picks up. If it is going to hurt, you should at least get the benefit.
There are no studies that show any long term damage to the muscle even from multiple episodes of DOMS. However, avoiding DOMS when possible is still the best bet.
“Everybody has some soreness
from time to time no matter what their fitness level,” stresses Dr. Williford.
“It is the natural way for your body to change and adapt to new stressors.
It is also an important protective mechanism.”
Taking it slow
Although I may not reach my target weight until a little later than I had hoped, I have adopted the low and slow method to gradually work my way up to fitness and health. That way I can do it safely and without losing time to this minor injury.
And today, I will add more weight to my daily work out. I will do three sets of ten repetitions with two boxes of Girl Scouts® cookies.