How To Reduce Pain After Workout: Quick Relief Tips

Muscle pain can be experienced by people of all ages, mostly after doing strenuous exercises or engaging in a new activity that may cause fatigue. Muscle pain cannot be avoided, but there are many techniques, that can reduce the severity of the pain you experience. This blog gives you information on how to reduce pain after workout.

The benefits of exercise are countless. By exercising, your body burns fat, leading to improvement in health. Workouts help to boost muscles, and body metabolism, avoid injury, and help in bone formation.

What is Muscle Pain?

The medical term for muscle pain is myalgia. Overuse of muscle results in acute myalgia. Chronic, i.e., long-term conditions can also result in muscle pain. Such types are rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and depression.

Muscle pain is not associated with any disease, rather, it is an indication of infection, injury or other health problems in the body.

Causes of Muscle Pain after Exercising:

Muscle pain can be experienced by anyone and at any time. Whether you are doing regular workouts or are new to exercises, have lately stepped up, and intensified your daily schedule, there is no way that such pain can be totally avoided.

While doing physical activity, the muscles overexert, reducing the oxygen supply, and this leads to muscle pain. This can be due to:

1) Engaging in longer workout sessions

2) Workouts with high intensity

3) Exercising more than required

4) Taking up new exercises without the necessary precautions being followed

Muscle pain will not occur instantly, on the other hand, after some time has elapsed. In this way, doctors or medical practitioners call this condition delayed muscle soreness (DOMS).

Types of Muscle Pain and Their Duration:

Generally, the two types of muscle pain are acute and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

1) Acute Muscle Soreness

Such a type of muscle pain occurs instantly after you are done with the workouts. This can be due to the buildup of a substance in the muscle, like lactic acid, when performing a strenuous exercise. This muscle pain usually subsides after a period lasting two hours.

2) Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Such muscle pain usually starts after 12 hours once the workout is done. DOMS is a result of various metabolic processes going on in the body and muscular changes.

As per the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), muscle soreness usually starts 12-24 hours after completing the workouts. The muscle pain gradually decreases after 24–72 hours when the workout is done.

How to Reduce Pain: Different Exercises

Exercise is a common remedy to relieve chronic and instant muscle pain. Based on the present health condition, it may help to relieve inflammation, joint pain, and gain mobility.

The undermentioned exercises can help to reduce pain after a workout:

1) Cardiovascular Exercises

Walking, running, and dancing are some examples of cardiovascular exercises. These boost the heart rate and increase the blood flowing through the muscles. This increased blood flow can help to recover the muscle soreness sooner.

Walking half an hour, three to five times daily, helps to make you strong and is good for the heart. Swimming is a low-impact activity, helps build the endurance of the body, and keeps your joints in motion.

2) Exercises Involving Stretching

When you have chronic neck or back pain, stretching helps to relieve the muscles.

Triceps stretch exercises can be performed as:

Sit, stand, or kneel, keeping feet hip-width apart, and extending the arms above.
The right elbow is bent, and your right hand is made to touch the top-middle of the back.
Your left hand is raised and made to touch the right elbow joint.
Now slowly lower your right elbow, moving towards your head.
Be in this position for at least 30 seconds.
Change arms and repeat this process.

How To Reduce Pain After Workout: Quick Relief Remedies

1) Applying Ice

Applying ice to the affected muscle or body part reduces the swelling and decreases the pain.

2) Massage the Affected Muscle

Massaging the stressed muscles, helps increase blood circulation and relieves the muscles.

A 2012 study revealed that massaging right after an injury increases the speed at which the strained muscle heals.

3) Heat Wrap

With increased temperature and better circulation, heat provides relief to stressed muscles, repairs broken tissues, and increases the muscle strength. This is a good way to relieve muscle tension, especially after workouts.

Safety Measures:

To keep the joints and muscles healthy, stretching and workout activities have to be carried out regularly.

Here are some precautions to keep in mind when you’re doing activities that involve stretching and workouts.

1) Correct stretching techniques have to be followed. You can ask an exercise professional, for any doubts.

2) Try to move the joint slowly and make sure it does not go beyond its range of motion.

3) Keep your breath short and normal.

Conclusion:

In the conclusion of this blog “How to reduce pain after workout”, we understand that muscle pain is common these days. The muscles take no time to recover and are quite efficient at working hard for a longer period of time.

You have to take care to protect your joints, muscles, and bones. Pain near the joint can be a signal for a more critical injury.