Muscle pain after exercise: what causes and how to remove it?
The contents
Why muscles hurt after exercise?
How to relieve muscle pain after workout?
Is it possible to avoid muscle pain after a workout?
Everyone who at least once in your life go for a workout knows the pain in the muscles after exercise is inevitable. The next morning after class you can feel overwhelmed. But why is there muscle pain after a workout? And how to remove it? Read our material.
Why muscles hurt after exercise?
Everyone knows that after a workout, inevitably there comes the muscle pain. Burning occurs under the action of lactic acid. Quite a long time experts believed that the pain associated with the release of vast amounts of lactates during exercise, which seems to burn muscle tissue and causing pain. But recently it became known that the lactic acid level decreases after training, but because the burning is observed only during physical activity and half an hour after them.
The pain that comes after exercise is associated with strained muscles. During intensive exercise occur microtrauma (tears, sprains) that occur within 24 hours. The healing process of these microscopic scarring is accompanied by the pain that we take for building muscle. Mistakenly believed that the stronger the muscle pain after a workout, the more they grow. But it’s not quite right: when you exercise muscles grow in any way, but the pain lasts more than two days, obviously not successful at sports.
The third cause of muscle pain after exercise can be called increased reactivity of the muscles. Increased sensitivity of nerve endings because of increased load caused due to a biological imbalance of fluid and salt. This not only leads to pain in the muscles, but the calf muscle cramps. To prevent such a problem, you should perform stretching before and after exercise.
Often weakness in the muscles caused due to overtraining. A feeling of weakness, pain, lack of energy points that way. This, in turn, leads to disruptions in hormonal levels, menstrual cycle, loss of immunity.
How to relieve muscle pain after workout?
First, the person needs to rest. How would it just not sound, but you can’t train every day. This will lead to stress and all the above symptoms. After exercise the body needs to give one or two days of rest, tranquility and relaxation. If the muscle pain does not pass on the fourth day, the load you need to reduce exactly by half.
Second, the help of cold compresses. You can also make dry ice, which will also relieve pain. It works the first day after training.
Thirdly, to help the heat. If the pain does not let go for a few days, you should take a hot bath, visit bath. This method will expand blood vessels, increase blood flow and stimulate the healing process.
Fourth, it is necessary to do massage. This will increase blood flow to the damaged muscles to accelerate recovery.
Fifth, you can take anti-inflammatory drugs. Particularly effective in this issue ibuprofen. You can also drink natural remedies — a decoction of chamomile, rose hips, Hypericum, viburnum, currant leaves. These drugs will act not worse, than the medication.
And the laziest can use various ointments and creams that relieve the pain. They are sold in pharmacies and is available to everyone.
We understand that during the pain in muscles after a workout do not want to move. After all, any movement provokes a new batch of pain and irritation. But one of the best methods against this is the movement. Muscles need work, but do not overload them too much. Even if you need to practice, forget about too heavy weights.
And finally, don’t forget about quality sleep, which can be called a cure for all diseases, including pain in the muscles after a workout. The recovery process of damaged muscle tissue will be much more effective during sleep. It should last at least eight hours a day.
Is it possible to avoid muscle pain after a workout?
To guarantee 100% the absence of pain after a workout you no one can. But there are certain measures which must be adhered to.
First and foremost, follow the diet and stick to a healthy diet. The amount of protein that you consume should equal the amount spent. The recovery requires about 2-4 grams of carbohydrate / kilogram of body weight, 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. About 20 percent of total calories should be fats, but only healthy (fish, nuts, avocado and so on). You can add in your diet fatty acids (300 mg per 1 kg of body weight) will help to reduce inflammation in the muscles. Flaxseed oil and fish oil — the best sources of this component.
By the way, there are a number of foods that ease the pain after a workout, as well as prevent it. It’s watermelon, black currant, BlackBerry and blueberry, cranberry and grape juices. Also the benefits of potatoes in their skins, cucumbers, figs, pomegranates, parsley, walnuts.
Also, don’t forget to drink water. One kilogram of body weight accounted for 30 ml of water. The lack of this substance in the diet will lead to problems: toxins will be worse to appear, the recovery process after a workout will slow down.
And do cardio exercises, do not need to focus only on strength training. Three or four cardio in a week will be enough for this.
After a workout, it is necessary to use a contrast shower. Alternating hot and cold water, you’ll give the muscles more confidence and will help them recover.