Treat muscle aches

Muscle pain after exercise. You might think that this pain you feel after exercise is "good pain" because it reminds you that you are working hard to stay fit and live a healthy life. The problem is that even "good pain" is uncomfortable and can affect your daily activities.

The sensation of pain and stiffness you feel 24 hours (or more) after your workout is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). DOMS is the result of muscle fiber injury caused by excessive or new exercise. Small tears signal the immune system to release white blood cells to start the repair process. White blood cells release chemicals and enzymes believed to cause muscle pain, explain sports medicine doctors. A healthy lifestyle always involves physical exercise. It is important to activate the body, strengthen your bones and muscles. But when you exercise for the first time, it is normal to wake up with muscle pain the next day. You may use new muscles, stretch muscles, or suffer small tears in muscle fibers. Remember that muscles start to ache as soon as you begin exercising.
Post-exercise muscle pain
Exercise is an important part of a healthy and active lifestyle. It improves the heart and lungs and strengthens bones and muscles. However, exercise can cause muscle pain, which often happens when you do new exercises or increase their intensity. You may use new muscles, stretch muscles, or suffer small tears in muscle fibers. If muscles begin to hurt immediately, this is called acute pain. You may feel pain about 12 hours after your workout and, in some cases, the discomfort may peak 48 to 72 hours later. This is known as delayed onset muscle soreness. During this time, your muscles heal and strengthen. Therefore, muscle pain may improve quickly or last several days.




To help relieve some muscle pain, you can try the following:

- Muscle massage.
- Use ice to help reduce inflammation.
- Use heat to help increase blood flow to the muscles.
- Take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), like ibuprofen.

How to reduce it after exercising
Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely avoid muscle pain because it is part or a symptom of strengthening. However, there are some techniques or tips that help reduce pain in the body.

Warm-up routine
Studies show that warming up muscles before training can be better than stretching. It wakes up the muscles by increasing blood circulation. Do gentle exercises to warm up without overexerting yourself. This includes jogging or cycling slowly, jumping rope, or lifting light weights.

Drink water
Water helps regulate body temperature, loosen joints, and transport nutrients to generate energy. Without water, the body will struggle to perform at its highest level. This can cause muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, or more severe symptoms.

Rest
Wait about 48 hours before training the same muscle groups. For example, when running, the lower body muscles are stressed. You should allow the affected muscles to rest for 2 days to recover before exercising again. If you do not rest, it can cause fatigue or muscle damage instead of growth and strength.

Application of correct techniques
Proper training protects against muscle strain or injury. If you are a member of a gym or health club, ask a trainer or instructor for help to teach you how to do each exercise correctly and how to use each device properly.

Know your limits
You may be tempted to push yourself, but remember to progress slowly with exercise. Over time, you can increase the weight you lift or the time you walk. Trying to raise it too soon can cause injuries. Muscle pain caused by exercise is pain that tells us that when muscles strengthen more than when they are strengthened, they can exercise more intensely. However, care must be taken not to damage muscles.

How to reduce muscle pain after an injury?
When you spend hours exercising to live an active and healthy life, improper posture during training, for example, can leave an incorrect footprint while running and cause accidental falls that can affect athletes. The key to achieving this goal is to be aware of the injury and follow the advice of sports medicine, orthopedics, or physiotherapist. In many circumstances, muscles can be injured from overwork or trauma. Therefore, it is important to know the cause. We will mention some reasons for muscle pain pointed out by medical experts specializing in sports.

Cramps
Cramps are involuntary and temporary contractions of certain muscle fibers, characterized by pain. There is muscle disorder due to circulatory deficit and immediate functional impairment. The pain persists at rest, contraction, stretching, and palpation. It is caused by excessive muscle work in anaerobic conditions.

Muscle soreness
These are diffuse and widespread muscle pains that appear 24-48 hours after exertion and are said to be caused by elevated lactic acid concentration.

Muscle overloads
They occur from intense and prolonged training. These types of muscle pains improve with rest.​

Contractures
They originate in a muscle fatigued by lactic acid buildup, although contractures also occur after a muscle fiber tear. When there is a contracture, muscle strength is lost, there is pain on palpation and with muscle contraction.

Strain or elongation
It is an abrupt muscle stretch, but there is no muscle tear, although there is intense pain. Note: Warming up and stretching muscles is essential during physical or sports activities. With a simple but well-executed routine, we can prevent sprains, tears, and strains that can cause serious ruptures. According to experts at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in the United States, one of the most common injuries to ankles is this. To avoid it, they recommend always stretching or warming up before exercise or sports, and above all, not doing any activity for which you are not well trained. Another recommendation is to ensure that the shoes we wear fit properly to the feet and protect the ankles and other joints from unnecessary strain.

What is the purpose of warm-up routines?
Warming up is the series of gentle exercises and movements we must do before each main sport that help the body prepare and adapt to the different phases of this activity. One of the main objectives when warming up is to prevent injuries and restore joint mobility. According to sports doctors, the warm-up should include the following:

- Joint mobility exercises to prepare the joints.
- Pulse-elevating activities to prepare the cardiovascular system.
- Gentle sustained stretches to prepare the muscles, associated ligaments, and connective tissues.
- Movements related to the activity itself to prepare the neuromuscular system.​

Benefits of stretching after exercise
When we exercise, our muscles and joints work hard, contracting and expanding several times. When we finish exercising, it is recommended to stretch so that the muscles and joints, due to the effort, decrease their intensity and return to their natural state. Besides reducing muscle tension, improving posture, and preventing injuries, stretching helps optimize the coordination and fluidity of our movements, as well as blood circulation. Experts recommend that all stretches be as wide as possible without causing pain. It is important to hold the maximum stretch for between 15 and 30 seconds and not exceed this point to avoid injury. It is advisable to carry out the routine regularly.