We can prevent sore muscles - or at least make sure that the pain is not too severe. Here you can find out how.
What are sore muscles?
Probably everyone has felt unpleasant muscle soreness after a hard workout: the muscles feel hard and ache with even the slightest strain. Muscle soreness is caused by minute injuries in the muscle fibers, for example, when you start exercising again after a long break or train more than usual. Fortunately, the phenomenon is harmless - as a rule, sore muscles heal on their own within a few days.
Causes and process: What happens to sore muscles?
It used to be assumed that increased strain on the muscles led to increased production of lactic acid - which then caused the painful muscle soreness. Today, it is known that so-called microlesions in the muscle tissue are responsible for the discomfort. These fine tears in the muscle fibers are mainly caused by simultaneous tensing and stretching of the muscle. Fluid seeps into the muscle tissue through the tears, whereupon the muscle fiber swells and is stretched - this causes pain.
But that's not all: in addition, the blood vessels also constrict and the muscle tissue is no longer supplied with sufficient blood. Muscle hardening or tension occurs, which makes the pain worse. And: The body breaks down cell structures in the muscle fibers. This creates so-called cleavage products, which cause irritation to the nerves and also cause pain from sore muscles.
Why does muscle soreness occur with a delay?
Muscle soreness always occurs a few hours to a day after training. This is because the nerve endings that send the pain signal to the brain are not located in the muscle fibers, but in the surrounding connective tissue. This is why we only perceive the pain when the accumulated fluid presses on it.
Prevent sore muscles - with these tips
To protect our muscles and prevent muscle soreness, here are a few tips for athletes and those who want to be:
- Warm-up: Whether you're a professional or not, warming up should always precede exercise to prevent sore muscles. Light on-the-spot trotting and stretching exercises loosen the muscles and reduce the risk of injury. Find more warm-up exercises here.
- Start slow: No one should go straight from zero to 100 in training. This is especially true if you've recently taken a break from sports or are just starting from scratch.
- Increase intensity: In order for muscles, ligaments, and tendons to gradually withstand more, the intensity of the training should be increased slowly. Constant training is important for this.
- Adhere to regeneration: When a muscle has been stressed by training, it needs a certain recovery time to recover and grow. If you absolutely want to continue training, you should focus on another muscle group and spare the muscle that has already been stressed.
Extra tip for successful training: For muscles to grow, they need a lot of protein in addition to the appropriate exercise. So when in doubt, check your diet if you feel that your workout isn't doing you any good.
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