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Pain Management: How Do You Solve A Problem Like DOMS?

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Whether you are pulling on your first pair of running shoes or just about to finish training for your tenth London Marathon, chances are that, two or three days after your workout, you may find yourself in some kind of pain or discomfort.

This often debilitating muscle tenderness, sometimes referred to as ‘muscle fever’ is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS, and it can last anywhere up to 72 hours, or in extreme cases even longer.

Not to be confused with regular muscle soreness, the kind you may feel immediately following intense exercise, DOMS onset occurs several days after your training and differs in severity and duration.

Though it isn’t particularly dangerous, unlike a tear or a strain, if you are struggling to get out of bed in the morning, or find it difficult to go up and down the stairs, it is probably best to give yourself a break from training for a day or two, try and eat plenty of protein foods (eggs/meat/soy) to aid in your recovery, kick back and relax.

But what precisely is DOMS and is there anything that you can do to stop it or even just deal with it better? We dug down deep into the dark depths of DOMS to try to find the answers and help you to understand just what’s going on.

What Is DOMS?

To put it simply, DOMS is stiffness, pain or soreness felt in the muscles, sometimes as early as eight to 12 hours after exercise.





A runner gets a little help after finishing the London Marathon

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What Causes DOMS?




When this microscopic damage occurs, your body fires up its inflammatory response system in order to meet that damage head-on and protect the body from further injury. Your immune system sends cells to the damaged area to activate repairing growth molecules and clean things up, resulting in an increase in the overall ability of your muscles to stand up to any future damage.

Basically, your body is built to naturally adapt to the changes caused by exercise exertions and your muscle structure will ultimately improve following the repair, albeit not without some pain and discomfort. No pain, no gain, you might say.


A runner rests on the gravel of Horse Guards Parade after finishing the London Marathon, April 26, 2015. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Picture Supplied by Action Images

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The Science of DOMS





Who Gets DOMS?

When you hear that your muscle is being damaged, you may be inclined to think that it’s a bad thing. However, the process of damaging muscle and breaking down its structure is just a part of the strength, fitness and body-building process, it’s natural. It doesn’t really matter if you are young or old, male or female, overweight or underweight DOMS doesn’t discriminate in any way, any and all people can and will suffer from it.



A participant stretches her legs after completing the London Marathon April 13, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT ATHLETICS) Picture Supplied by Action Images

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Does DOMS Mean I Am Building More Muscle?

The short answer to that question is Рprobably not, no.

Though there is a school of thought that believes it may, to some extent, enhance it Рparticularly if you have been training for a number of years.

There is very little evidence to suggest that դamageՠto your muscles is a requirement for muscle growth to occur, but it is believed that there is an optimal amount which will help to enhance the effects of your workout.


Can I Combat DOMS?

In all honesty, there isnִ a simple way to treat yourself for DOMS, but as common as it is, it is by no means a necessary evil of exercise. There are a number of different precautions you can take to prevent and shorten the length of time you are affected by it, and, as the old proverb says Рӡn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.Ԝn

There are however a number of ways to reduce the effects and alleviate those Չ canִ make it up the stairsՠsymptoms. A sports massage will help to move blood and fluid around your body and go a long way to healing the trauma in your muscles, depending upon the area and the type of massage administered.


However, before you go off downing Vitamin C like some scurvy-ravaged Jack Sparrow wannabe, large doses are no good for you and in some cases can be very harmful Рeven leading to kidney stones.


In all honesty, the most effective treatment for DOMS is to ensure that you are exercising correctly, starting out new regimes slowly (follow the 10% rule) and avoiding making any sudden changes to the way that you train. If you are serious about what you do, practicing good common sense in your workouts and following simple warm-up and cool-down routines will go a long way to alleviating the pain of delayed onset muscle soreness.

Stay safe, happy training and donִ get down about your DOMS.

Words by John Lawless

Athletics - Virgin Money London Marathon - London - 26/4/15 A fun runner during the Virgin Money London Marathon Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett Livepic

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