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Not enough exercise? One day you wake and decide that time to get off your backside and exercise. You go for a jog, enrol in a cardio class or lift some weights at the gym and you feel fantastic when you finish. Full of energy and life. When you get out of bed the next morning you feel very very different and your muscles groan and ache. This is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Lactic acid is commonly held responsible for causing this muscle burn and fatigue. Nevertheless, this is an athletes myth and lactic acid is not the cause for this muscle pain.
Lactic acid is released during high intensity exercise when the muscles require more oxygen than can be provided by the blood. For the body to make the energy needed for the exercise then the anaerobic metabolism system kicks in. Anaerobic metabolism does not require any oxygen to produce energy for the muscles. During the decomposition of carbohydrates and glucose, the cells of the body produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). On a basic level this produces energy for the majority of the chemical responses in the body. One of the by-products of the anaerobic chemical reactions is lactic acid.
Lactic acid has been given a bad rap.} The lactic acid in the muscles is comprised of a lactate ion and hydrogen (H+ ion). The H+ ion associated with the lactic acid is consider to react with the nervous system signals and impede muscular contractions. Many believe that muscle soreness during exercise is due to increasing concentration of the H+ ion.
However, the lactate is an extremely fast and efficient fuel source. Whenever carbohydrates are used, most is transformed to lactate. This lactate is then utilised in the tissues as energy or it is sent through the blood stream to regions of the body that need energy. Fast use of carbohydrates for energy creation while exercising speeds up the formation of lactic acid and for a short time, lactic acid can accumulate in the muscles and blood. This results in the well-known muscle aching feelings. If the intensity of the exercise is lessened then the amount of lactate required for fuel may reaches the amount of lactate creation to reach a kind of equilibrium.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Lactic acid is the cause of the sore muscles while working out (and immediately afterwards as well) and this is the reason why several people think it is the cause of the burning feeling 24-36 hours after a big workout. Lactic acid is totally converted in the muscles in the hour immediately after a hard workout. There are no extreme rates of lactic acid in the muscles when Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness hits.
Research indicates that DOMS is probably the result of localized injury to the muscle tissues membranes, the attaching fibres and the contractile components – predominantly micro trauma to the muscle tissues. The day following a long workout session, the injured muscles can be swollen and sore. Chemical markers are released from the injured muscle which can stimulate the pain sensors. The morning after the workout, the muscles tissues are tired, have tiny tears and are swollen. This is seen as being an abnormal situation by the muscle nerve cells and pain signals are sent to the brain.
General advice for managing DOMS is a bit of stretching, light activity such as walking, massage (definitely!), a warm bath etc. All these activities are aimed at slightly raising blood flow to the muscles and injured tissues to help fix (and not expelling non-existing lactic acid accumulation). As the body adjusts to the new exercise then the muscle can be accustomed to the increased loads placed on them and the incidence of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is reduced.
Whilst any exercise you are not used to doing can cause DOMS, there is significant evidence available that eccentric contractions are responsible for most of the pain of DOMS. An eccentric contraction is one where the force is maintained on the muscle at the same time as the muscle is increasing in length. The easiest example of an eccentric contraction is when you are lowering a weight during an exercise such as a biceps curl. The biceps muscle is still working at holding the weight whilst the bicep muscle fibers are lengthening. Other examples of eccentric contractions include running downhill and the lowering phase during a squat. Exercise physiologists will almost always incorporate eccentric contractions during research studies into DOMS.
Studies show that Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is most likely caused by localized injury to the the contractile fibers of the muscles and the muscle fascia – predominantly micro trauma to the muscle tissues. The day following a long workout session, the injured muscles feel painful and swollen. Chemical markers are released from the injured muscle which can stimulate the pain sensors. The morning after the workout, the muscles fibers are fatigued, have tiny tears and are normally inflammed. This is seen as being an abnormal situation by the muscle nerve cells and pain signals are sent to the brain.
General advice for managing DOMS is a bit of stretching, light activity such as walking, massage (definitely!), a warm bath, and more. All these are geared at increasing the flow of blood to the muscles to facilitate muscle repair. With regular exercise the intensity of the DOMs decreases as the muscles adjust to the new loads being placed on them.
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