Muscles ache after exercise: what to do to get rid of pain

Many novice athletes often hear that it is very good if their muscles hurt after training. So they did a great job. Is this correct and is pain really an indicator of quality training? Yes and no. More specifically, the absence of pain is not a sign of unproductive work, and its presence sometimes signals injury.

Let's take a look at the physiology of the process and learn how to distinguish "bad" pain from "good". As you study this article, you will understand why muscles ache after exercise and how to reduce the severity of sensations, as well as familiarize yourself with related tips and tricks.

Why do muscles hurt?

Let's try to find out if the muscles should hurt after training, for this we will look in a textbook on physiology.

So, a person came to the gym and began to perform work that was unusual for the body. Exercise causes the muscles to contract, contract, twist, stretch, relax, etc. As a result, micro-damage to the fibers is formed, due to which mitochondria in cells break down. In the blood, the level of leukocytes rises, to which the immune system immediately reacts.

Approximately the same condition is experienced by the body with an infectious disease, trauma, viruses. Immediately upon completion of the training, the damaged muscle structure begins to recover. It is the decay products of immune cells responsible for healing that are the cause of pain.

The process does not proceed quickly, therefore, immediately after the end of the lesson, the pain does not manifest itself as sharply as after about 12 hours. That's why the day after training, the muscles hurt more. Sometimes it is so strong that it is difficult for a person to move.

The intensity and duration of pain is manifested individually for each person, it depends on how much stress the muscles experienced, how much damage to the microfibers. If you haven't been to the gym for 10 years, and all your physical activity until now was limited to climbing the stairs to the first floor to the elevator, do not ask why your muscles still hurt the day after training.

Now let's find out if the muscles should hurt after each workout, that is, in experienced athletes who have long made friends with the barbell.

Immediately after completing the session, your body begins to intensively produce protein - this period is considered ideal for taking a protein shake. Protein is the building block for muscle recovery. It fills in damaged tissue, and does it with a "margin". Thus, the muscles become more elastic, increase in volume, and their ability to withstand the subsequent load increases. Thus, with each lesson they will get sick less and less, but this does not mean at all that the athlete is not doing well.

However, professionals also have periods when, after exercise, the whole body hurts:

• If he suddenly increased the load - the duration or intensity of the training, the weight of the projectile;
• If the lesson was preceded by a long break;
• If he came to the gym feeling unwell (the first phase of ARVI, stress or depression, an unhealed injury, etc.);
• If for a long time he did not pump the strength abilities of the muscles (the load was in place), but today he suddenly made a "march".

Many people are interested in how much muscle sore after the first workout? Normally, the process should not take longer than 2-4 days. If the pain persists, see a doctor.

As long as the muscles continue to hurt, there can be no talk of any full-fledged continuation of the exercises. Do not skip a workout, but work at 50% less intensity, gentle on those muscle groups that hurt the most.

Types of muscle pain

Well, we have found out whether the muscles should hurt after sports. You are probably wondering how to get rid of severe muscle pain after exercise. To do this, let's figure out what types it is divided into:

1. Post training, low intensity. It manifests itself the next day after training. It is characterized by general fatigue, moderate pain during movement, worse if the muscles are pulled or contracted. What if your muscles hurt like this after exercise? Relax and give them time to recover. In a couple of days, everything will pass without a trace. In the following sections, we provide tips for preventing and reducing pain.
2. Lagging, strong. The nature of the pain, as a rule, aching, sometimes there is a slightly increased body temperature. It manifests itself in 2-3 days after training, it grows smoothly. When the injured muscles are used, the greatest discomfort is felt. How to relieve pain when muscles do not hurt immediately after exercise? Massages, warm baths, herbal teas, and peace of mind will help.
3. Burning and tingling sensations. Most often, the sensation occurs immediately after class or in the next few hours. The reason is an excess of lactic acid, the oxidation of which causes the indicated discomfort. What if after your first workout your muscles ache and sore? Be patient - after an hour and a half the peak of pain will subside, but most likely, post-training pain will replace the burning sensation.
4. Traumatic. Caused by trauma - sprains, bruises, dislocations, or even fractures. As a rule, pain occurs directly during training, acute, local. The damaged area hurts a lot, it is difficult for them to move, there is tissue redness, swelling, edema. The traumatic condition is not considered normal. The best solution is to call an ambulance immediately.

Risk factors for getting injured in the gym:

• Getting started without warm-up;
• Excessive weight of shells;
• Failure to comply with the exercise technique and safety measures in the gym;
• Incorrect setting of simulators;
• Training for an unhealed injury, in a sick condition.

How to get rid of muscle pain?

Well, we're done with the theory. Now we turn to the most interesting part of the publication. Finally, we'll show you how to get rid of post-workout muscle pain.

• Take a warm or even hot bath at home immediately after class. Add some sea salt to the water;
• If you have a jacuzzi, arrange yourself a hydromassage;
• What to do if muscles ache after fitness, but the jacuzzi is not at home? Give yourself a gentle massage. With gentle patting and stroking movements, go over the most sensitive areas of the body. If there are special massage rollers or rollers - use them;

• If you do not know what to do when the muscles hurt very badly after training and nothing helps, apply an analgesic or warming ointment such as Voltaren, Analgos, Dolobene, Diclofenac. Read the instructions carefully;
• Get a special compression jersey and wear it for your workout. Such clothes will be the best clue to the question: how to reduce muscle pain after exercise. It shortens the healing period, improves blood circulation, reduces the risk of injury;
• We talked with experienced athletes, asked them how to relieve muscle pain after training, and learned that many people use special sports nutrition. Right during the lesson, you need to drink the BCCA amino acid complex, and immediately after - a supplement with creatine and proteins. This will significantly reduce the duration of the inflammatory period, help build muscles, increase their endurance and strength.

• Not everyone knows what to do when the whole body hurts right after a workout, so many go down the wrong path. For example, instead of a hot bath, which relaxes and soothes, they take an ice bath. It may reduce pain, but only while you are in the bath. Then she will return, and even a hundredfold. As a last resort, if a hot bath is not an option at all, take a contrast shower.
• And the last life hack on the topic "how to remove muscle pain after training": drink herbal soothing infusions and green tea. They have analgesic properties, and also quickly remove toxins and decay products.

Prevention

We described how you can relieve muscle pain after exercise, but there are recommendations, adherence to which can, at all, reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.

1. Never be lazy to do a good workout. Warmed up muscles are less injured during active work. Also, do not forget about the hitch, the main purpose of which is a smooth transition from tension to relaxation.
2. The load should constantly progress slightly. So you will not allow stagnation, and, as a result, muscle reactions to an unexpected increase in the complexity of the training;
3. Follow the exercise technique;
4. Never exercise at full strength if the muscles are still sore. In case of injury, training is, of course, completely contraindicated;
5. Stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition - all such factors must be minimized;
6. Follow your drinking regimen. Water should be drunk before, during and after training, it is very important for a full and timely supply of cells with oxygen and minerals;
7. Get enough sleep and be sure to alternate your training days with rest periods. The muscles must have time to recover.
8. Carefully form your diet - eat enough protein (2.5 g per 1 kg of body weight if you want to gain weight), a minimum of fat and a moderate amount of complex carbohydrates (if you are losing weight). The diet should contain fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, cereals, dairy products. Limit sweets, white baked goods, fast food, sugar.

Well, now you know what to do if your whole body hurts after a workout. You have familiarized yourself with physiology and now you understand that in most cases it is absolutely normal. Once again, muscle pain is not necessarily a sign of quality training. It hurts - it means they have exceeded their limit, and nothing more.

We also talked about why sometimes muscles hurt for a long time after training, mentioning the likelihood of injury. You must be able to distinguish between microtrauma in muscle fibers due to stress and traumatic pain due to injury or sprain. The algorithm of actions in each of these situations, as you understand, is radically different.

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