The Mystery of DOMS

Just about all of us at one time or another has felt sore the day or so after a workout. If you're like most individuals, you probably blew it off, rested a little and chalked it up to an overly aggressive workout, or the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. Because so many misconceptions exist about this phenomenon, this review presents the real story—as much as we now know—about this mysterious process.

The feeling of pain, stiffness or discomfort in muscles that occurs a day or so after a workout is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS for short) While DOMS has been under scientific scrutiny since at least 1902, at the present time, the actual biological process behind it remains a mystery. What is known is that DOMS is a complex biological process, and every piece of the puzzle uncovered, makes it all the more mysterious. Many theories exist to explain the occurrence of DOMS. Some of the more plausible theories include:

The torn tissue theory which advocates that microscopic tears in the muscles are the cause of DOMS.
The connective tissue theory subscribes to the idea that damage to the connective tissue attached to muscle is the cause of DOMS.
The Inflammation theory states that the pain felt during DOMS is simply a by-product of our body's attempt to fix the damage that has been caused by a workout.

While each of these theories do explain some aspects of DOMS, no theory fully explains the entire process. The following is a quick run down of what we currently know about DOMS.

DOMS-related pain usually occurs within the first 24 to 72 hours following exercise. Specifically, DOMS can occur following overly difficult exercise or any activity that we are not used to. For example, you could perform every exercise in your gym but if it snowed tonight and you had to shovel your pavement, you would probably experience DOMS because there isn't an exercise in your gym that mimics shoveling the snow.
Of the three types of muscle in our bodies—heart muscle, smooth muscle (which lines our blood vessels) and skeletal muscle (which is attached to our skeletons, such as biceps and triceps muscle)—DOMS effects only skeletal muscle.
DOMS is not caused by lactic acid buildup in the muscle. This is the myth that refuses to go away. Within one hour after exercise, most, if not all, of the lactic acid produced during exercise is removed and recycled. This misconception of lactic acid causing DOMS probably became popular because lactic acid is in fact produced in the muscles during intense exercise and does cause muscles to fatigue. The key point to remember is that muscle fatigue and DOMS are two different things.
DOMS does not result in any long-term damage to muscle. This makes sense because if it did, we would expect to see great declines in the abilities of professional athletes during the course of their careers.
Interestingly, DOMS-related pain is not felt at rest. This is one way you can differentiate between DOMS and more severe injuries.
Studies show that the majority of pain associated with DOMS is caused by eccentric muscle actions, which occur as muscle fibers are lengthened as force is applied to them. Eccentric muscle actions (or negatives as they are sometimes called) occur, when you lower a weight, such as during the descending phase of a squat or a biceps curl. As an aside, its worth nothing that some women's-only fitness centers like Curves, do not incorporate eccentric exercise in their workouts. This is actually pretty smart thinking because it shows people that exercise need not hurt the next day. One of the most difficult hurdles to overcome when starting a workout program is getting people to not associate pain and exercise. If you can show them that exercise doesn't have to hurt the next day, then there is a good chance they will continue to exercise over the long haul, which in turn gives them the power to change their lives.

How Can You Prevent DOMS?

DOMS appears to be something we humans are wired to experience. However, below are some tactics you can use to help reduce the severity of DOMS.

Start slowly. Starting an exercise program slowly is one of your best defenses against DOMS. For example, if you performed one set of a chest press at a light weight-say—12-15 repetitions—you would feel much less DOMS 24-72 hours later than if you had performed 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Sometimes, performing the same exercise that caused the DOMS—but at a lower intensity—is also effective at reducing DOMS-related pain
Vitamin C. Some people take vitamin C to reduce DOMS pain. Since vitamin C is needed to make connective tissue and since there is damage to connective tissue in DOMS, in theory, this makes sense. In fact, at least one study did find that vitamin C could alleviate DOMS. However, this investigation is over 50 years old and has been criticized by other researchers because of flaws in the study design. If you are going to experiment with vitamin C, I suggest using less than 250 mg. Some evidence suggests that humans may be unable to absorb more than 250 mg of vitamin C at a time. As a rule, the less you take at one time, the more you absorb.
Massage. This is a fuzzy area. There is research that finds that massage may improve DOMS and other research that indicates that it does not. Because there are many different types of massage, this may be the reason behind the conflicting findings. One thing is certain, massage feels good and when I become rich I intend to get a massage every day—DOMS or no DOMS!
Yoga. In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, investigators found that strength trainers who participated in yoga were less likely to experience DOMS. This may be due to the variety of unique movements that are performed during yoga. In other words, performing a wide range of different movement patterns may prepare the body for what is to come when you start an exercise program.
Stretching. While a staple of many exercise programs, some studies find that stretching can actually cause DOMS if you are not used to stretching! The bottom line on stretching is if you want to do it great. Just do it after your workout when your muscles are warmer—and start out slowly to reduce DOMS from rearing its ugly head.

About the author: Joe Cannon, MS, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist, personal trainer, writer and health educator. He is the author of Nutritional Supplements: What Works and Why. A Comprehensive Review from A to Zinc and Nutrition Essentials, a Guidebook for the Fitness Professional. For more information visit his official website www.Joe-Cannon.com or drop Joe an email directly at JoeCannon@rcn.com