The Mystery of
DOMS
Just about all of us at one time or another has felt sore the day
or so after a workout. If you’re 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 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, your biceps muscle), DOMS effects
only skeletal muscle. What’s more, DOMS can occur in any skeletal
muscle in the body and can occur regardless of the person’s
fitness level.
3. DOMS is not caused by lactic acid in the muscle. Lactic acid
is a by product of burning sugars during 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.
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. That’s a good question and is one that is currently
under scientific investigation.
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, talk to your doctor about using something
like aspirin or ibuprofen to ease your discomfort. Take only what
is prescribed on the bottle
3. Vitamin C. One study, which is almost 50 years old, did find
that vitamin C supplements did in fact reduce the pain associated
with DOMS. While this study has been criticized by some researchers
(and to my knowledge, hasn't been reevaluated in the laboratory),
it makes some sense that vitamin C would seem to help since, vitamin
C is involved in making new connective tissue- and connective 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.
That’s 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, it’s not the quantity of exercise you do, it’s
the quality.
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Joseph
P. Cannon, M.S., is an exercise physiologist, writer, lecturer
& personal trainer who resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He holds an MS degree in Health and Physical Education
and a BS degree in Chemistry and Biology. He is a Certified
Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a personal trainer
certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association
(NSCA). He lectures on exercise, personal training, nutrition,
dietary supplements and holistic medicine at the local and national
levels AAAI./ISMA and is authoring a book on health and fitness.
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