How to Handle Sore Muscles
By Sara Butler
When you work out, sore muscles are definitely going to be a part of your life. Delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS, can strike anyone who exercises whether they’re new to it or not. This muscle pain usually occurs about 24 to 48 hours after exercise and is more likely to occur while doing something your body isn’t used to. One of the best ways to prevent DOMS is to ease into new exercise and slowly progress your workout program. But if and when DOMS hits you, here are a few tips that can help.
Hit the Reset Button
You should spend a few minutes after your workout cooling down. This stretches muscles but also helps to hit a sort of reset button for your central nervous system, calming things down. It helps to downgrade the adrenaline you’ve spent time releasing during your sweat session and should help with DOMS. You can do a few yoga poses such as happy baby or deep breathing to help you take things down a notch after exercise.
Get Your Body Moving
When DOMS strikes, you may feel as if you’ve been beaten up by ninjas, but the last thing you should do is stay in one place. You probably shouldn’t hit the gym to push yourself even harder, but you should do some light exercise to get your body and your muscles moving. Sitting around all day when you’re sore will only make DOMS worse, so incorporate some low-impact exercise into your day to help. Do some yoga, take a walk, or even go for a swim.
Replenish
You should, of course, remember to stay hydrated after exercise to help reduce muscle soreness, but you also need to eat right. Your body needs to replenish the carbohydrates and protein it lost to help you recover faster. Focus on whole grain in combination with your protein. Cheese and crackers or turkey on whole grain bread are an easy and great place to start.
Recovering from workout soreness can be tough, but understand that sometimes it happens as a part of your progress. You must always challenge yourself when you work out or you could hit a plateau with your fitness and health goals.
If you have questions about muscle soreness and treatment, discuss it with your chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Farmington, Utah.