After exercising, the next day you may wake up with aches and pains almost all over your body. Well, body pain after exercise can indeed be one of the effects of the exercise program you are living. However, is this a natural thing for you to feel? Then, does the more you feel sick, the more powerful the effects of exercise on your body? Come on, find out the answer in the following explanation.
Why does the body hurt after exercise?
Basically, when doing a new sport or movement that your muscles rarely do, the muscle cells in the part that you use will be damaged. This is known as DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Sense. This condition is normal and everyone can feel it, even for professional athletes.
Damage to muscle tissue is what causes pain. Pain after exercise is a sign that the muscles are starting to adapt to receive pressure during exercise.
DOMS usually starts 6 to 8 hours after you start a new activity or after changing a certain activity. This pain can last for the next 24 to 48 hours. This is why you usually only feel sore the next day or hours after exercising.
When you exercise, you squeeze the muscle fibers until they break and the muscles adapt to repair them to become bigger and stronger than before. So when you do the same activity again, the muscles are getting stronger and able to adapt. The pain did not appear again or slightly reduced.
For example, if it’s your first time doing 10 push-ups, it’s very likely that your arms and stomach will hurt the next day because you’re not used to it. Then the next day, when you want to practice 10 more push-ups, your muscles are better able to adapt to the movement.
When can you feel these muscle aches and pains?
Muscle soreness after exercise due to the effects of DOMS is different from mild muscle aches and pains and is usually not bothersome. You can experience this condition if you do things like the following.
1. When you start exercising for the first time or you haven’t exercised in a long time and recently you’ve been trying again.
2. Add new activities to your regular exercise program.
3. Increase the amount of exercise intensity. For example, increasing your running speed, increasing the weight you lift, or increasing the number of reps in your exercise movement.
4. Doing long activities over and over again without adequate rest.
Is it a good sign to feel sick after a workout?
Body aches after exercise isn’t always a good sign. Indeed, the more sore body parts can be a sign that the more new muscles you are engaging to adapt to the new exercise movement.
However, body pain after exercise can also be a sign of other things. Not only because of muscle adaptation but this condition can also be caused by excessive exercise. Excessive exercise can make your body feel achy and excruciating pain.
In addition, if the exercise movements you do are wrong, causing muscle injury at some point in the body, this condition can also cause pain in various parts of the body.
What are the signs and symptoms of body aches after exercise to watch out for?
You should know the difference between muscle soreness resulting from the adaptation process of an exercise and muscle pain caused by muscle overuse or injury.
Some of the signs and symptoms of body pain after exercise that you need to watch out for include the following.
1. Pain after exercise to the point where you can’t do any light daily activities or work. This condition can indicate that the portion of your exercise is excessive.
2. The pain sensation you feel does not go away after more than 72 hours. This condition can be a sign not the usual muscle pain.
3. Swelling of the limbs that can involve running injuries.
4. Decreased range or movement of the joint due to swelling.
5. Dark urine or urinating less frequently.
6. Increased heart rate even at rest.
7. Frequent cold and flu symptoms.
8. Decreased appetite than usual.
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If you experience some of these symptoms after exercising, it’s best to let your body fully rest. In general, the body needs about 48 to 72 hours before starting to exercise again. If necessary, consult your doctor to make a diagnosis and find out further action.
How to prevent sore muscles that come back after exercising?
Start your practice slowly and gradually. If you are not strong enough to do 20 push-ups, you shouldn’t do it all at once.
Today you may do 5 times to the next few days. Then, increase it again to 10 times until you can reach the target of 20 push-ups. Give the muscles time to gradually adapt to the new movement to minimize pain.
Reported by the NHS, you can still train even if your body is still sick or experiencing DOMS. Maybe you will feel a little uncomfortable, but eventually, the pain will go away once your muscles move a lot again
If the pain makes it difficult for you to exercise, it’s better to rest for a while until the pain goes away. Alternatively, you can focus on other exercises that involve moving other muscles.
For example, if you feel unable to do push-ups because your hands are still sore, you can do other alternatives, such as jogging, swimming, or doing other movements that are not too centered on the shoulder muscles.