I recently travelled through China, and hiked part of the Great Wall. Clearly I hadn't been doing enough cycling to prepare me for the thousands of steps I had to tread during the initial part of the track! I was so sore for the next 3 days, especially every time I had to tackle any stairs. Carrying my luggage when I arrived back on the London Underground was a very painful experience!
Muscle pain and discomfort after exercise can occur 1 to 3 days after the event, and is termed, 'delayed onset muscle soreness'. When we exercise, our muscles not only work hard, but microscopic tears occur in our muscles. Don't worry, the body goes on to repair these microscopic tears. But it is these tears that cause delayed muscle soreness. The amount of pain you feel will depend on how hard you exercised, for how long, what type of exercise you did and your level of fitness.
Delayed onset muscle soreness is very common when one begins any new exercise programme or tries a new activity. So don't fret, it will all feel easier when you muscles become accustomed to exercise again.
So what can we do to treat it?
1. Avoid any vigorous activity that is likely to increase pain
2. Do some low impact, gentle aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the muscles and assists in muscle repair and removal of any lactic acid (a cause of muscle pain and fatigue)
3. Apply gentle stretching to the affected area
4. Gently massage the affected area, or even better, have someone do it for you!
5. Don't exercise again until the soreness eases
And finally, a good warm up and cool down, and stretching after exercise when the muscles are warm, can all minimise the onset of muscle soreness.
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