by Joseph Patrick Cannon, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Just about all of us at one time or another has felt sore the day or so after a workout. If your like most individuals, you probably blew it off, took a few days off from your training and chalked it up to an overly aggressive workout, or the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. Because so many misconceptions exist about this phenomena, I thought you might like to hear the real story-at least as much as is known so far.....

The feeling of pain, stiffness or discomfort in muscles that occurs a day or so after a work out is known in the scientific community as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Because nobody wants to go around saying that mouthful, most usually just call it “DOMS”for short. Even though DOMS has been under scientific scrutiny since the turn of the century, at the present time, the actual biological process behind it remains a mystery. What is known is that DOMS is a complex process, and every piece of the puzzle uncovered, makes it all the more mysterious.

Many theories exist to explain the occurrence of DOMS. Some of the more plausible of theories include:
The torn tissue theory, which states that microscopic tears in the muscles themselves are the cause of DOMS.
The connective tissue theory advocates that damage to the connective tissue attached to muscle is the cause of DOMS.
The Inflammation theory states that the pain felt during DOMS is simply a by-product of our bodies attempt to fix the damage that has been caused by a workout.

While each of these theories, and others which I have not discussed, do explain some of the aspects of DOMS, none of them can explain the entire process. The following is a quick run down of what we do know about DOMS.

1. The pain of DOMS is said to occur within the first 24 to 48 hours following exercise. Peak intensity of discomfort occurs somewhere between 24 to 72 hours following exercise. The soreness usually subsides within 7 to 10 days after the initial damage has occurred.
2. Of the three types of muscle in our bodies, cardiac(heart muscle), smooth (which lines our blood vessels) and skeletal (which is attached to our skeletons, for example, you’re biceps muscle) , DOMS effects only skeletal muscle. Whats more, DOMS can occur in any skeletal muscle in the body and can occur regardless of the persons fitness level.
3. DOMS is not caused by lactic acid in the muscle. Lactic acid is a by product of burning sugars for energy duiring intense physical exercise. Within an hour after exercise, most, if not all, of the lactic acid produced in the muscles is removed and degraded. This misconception of lactic acid and DOMS probably got started by that fact that lactic acid is in fact produced in the muscles during intense exercise and does cause muscles to fatigue. The key point to remember is that muscle fatigue and DOMS are two different processes and just because they sometimes seem to go hand in hand, they are not related in any way.
4. DOMS does not result in any long term damage to muscle. This makes sense; if it did, we would expect to see great declines in the abilities of professional athletes during the course of their careers.
5. Studies have shown that the vast majority of damage associated with DOMS is attributed to eccentric muscle contractions, in which the muscle fibers are lengthened as force is applied to them. Eccentric muscle contractions occur, for example, when you run downhill, or as you are lower a weight (such as during a squat or an arm curl).

Now that you know more about DOMS, you’re probably wondering how to prevent it. Thats a good question and is one thats under scientific investigation as you read these words. While for the moment, there is no magic bullet which can seek out and stop the pain associated with DOMS, there are some things you can do to minimize the development of DOMS and its pain.

1. Stretch slowly. Studies linking DOMS to stretching have been conducted and have mixed results-some say stretching causes DOMS and others say it doesn't. To be on the safe side, warm up before exercising by doing something light and easy (only you know for yourself what is easy for you).This will warm the muscles and prepare them for what is to come and will in fact make them more efficient at doing the actual exercise. When you do stretch after the exercise, do so slowly , especially if you are new to stretching. Stretch only to the point at which you feel slight discomfort and hold the stretch for anywhere between 10 -30 seconds ( start with 10 seconds or less if you are a beginner).
2. If the pain is really bad, try using something like aspirin or ibuprofen to ease your discomfort. Take only what is prescribed on the bottle and if you are watching your vitamin intake, be aware, aspirin increases vitamin C excretion, and vitamin C is needed to make connective tissue (which is damaged in DOMS), and bone. So, to be on the safe side, don't take your vitamins at the same time as you take aspirin; in other words, separate them by a couple of hours.
3. Speaking of vitamin C, one study, which is almost 40 years old, did find that vitamin C supplements did in fact lessen the pain associated with DOMS. While this study has been criticized by some researchers (and to my knowledge, hasn't been reevaluated in the labrotory), it makes some sense that vitamin C would seem to help since, as I mintioned above, vitamin C is involved in making new conntctive tissue- and connevtive tissue is damaged in DOMS. If you are going to experiment with vitamin C, for DOMS, here’s a piece of advice: take it in quantities of 250 milligrams (mg) or less. The body absorbs vitamin C best in this range. Anything more than this will probably be lost in the urine.

Thats about it. Now that you know more about DOMS than you probably ever wanted to know, go out and have a pain free workout, and remember, its not the quantity of exercise you do, its the quality.

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