Dealing With DOMS

Dealing With DOMS

What is DOMS?

DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It is a condition that causes significant muscle aches and soreness, typically around 24-48 hours following a challenging bout of exercise (hence “delayed onset”). It’s caused by micro-trauma to the tiny fibers within our muscles, which leads to inflammation, swelling, and changes in normal levels of electrolytes and other fluids near the affected muscles.

A common misconception about DOMS is that it’s caused by a build-up of lactic acid, which is produced as a by-product by your body when oxygen stores are depleted. In reality, the presence of lactic acid seems to be correlated with DOMS — that is, it’s often present in the blood of people who are experiencing DOMS — but it’s not actually the cause.

The easiest way to think about DOMS is that it’s a temporary condition caused by microscopic damage to your muscle fibers that comes as a result of exercise that is a bit too intense, too long, or too challenging.

Why Does DOMS Happen?

DOMS can happen after any type of exercise, but especially exercise to which you are unaccustomed or ill-prepared for. So, if you lift more or heavier weights than you ever have before in a training session, or if you run way more miles than you’ve ever attempted, don’t be surprised if you feel super sore for the next day or two.

DOMS is temporary — depending on how intense your exercise was, any delayed onset soreness should go away within about two to four days.

Bottom Line

It’s important to remember that DOMS can happen to anyone, even highly trained athletes, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it’s also not something you should use as a marker of work effort. After all, if you have DOMS because you performed an exercise or session that you were not adequately prepared for, then you were putting yourself at risk for injury.

Plus, when you’re dealing with DOMS, you probably won’t be able to train as hard as you want and you may have to miss a workout or two entirely. Missing workouts or having to skimp on intensity can throw off your progress if it happens repeatedly. You want to push yourself in your workouts, but you don’t want to constantly be throwing yourself over the edge. Be mindful of when DOMS occurs and start using it to gauge your intensity levels and learn more about what your body can handle.