Why you get sore and what to do about it

Being sore after an active day or workout is a common experience for most of us. If you can believe it, medical professionals and researchers are still trying to figure out what actually causes muscle soreness. One popular theory is that microtears are created when you strain your muscles. Those microtears cause the pain that we associate with soreness.

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the soreness you develop between 12 and 24 hours after a new activity, but not during the exercise itself. While painful, DOMS is not dangerous.

DOMS usually goes away on its own, and there aren’t a lot of safe medical treatments for DOMS symptoms. In particular, the anti-inflammatory drugs a doctor may prescribe should not be used for long.

Fortunately, other remedies are available, and there is good research behind them!

Magnesium has been proven to help with symptoms and recovery after exercise, though it has only been studied on a short-term basis. Here are two studies demonstrating a significant benefit when magnesium was added to the subject’s diet: Study A and Study B.

In this study, saffron was found to be highly effective in treating DOMS symptoms. Those who took a 300 mg supplement of saffron were able to continue to exercise and recover faster than those who received the placebo. More studies are needed, but there is more about saffron later in this email.

What is the best (and cheapest) way to recover from DOMS symptoms? Move more (low intensity is fine). A long walk or swim may help if you are struggling with soreness.

Important note: Please pay attention if your DOMS symptoms last more than a week or are painful rather than sore, and reach out to a healthcare professional if necessary.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash