How can I relieve muscle soreness after a workout?

We all feel muscle soreness after exercise and training, and this muscle soreness will last for a long time. When the muscles are sore, there may be symptoms such as fatigue and weakness, but some people will not feel tired until a few hours later. We call it delayed muscle soreness. So how should we relieve muscle soreness after exercise? Next, let me introduce to you some ways to relieve muscle soreness after exercise.

In sports medicine, muscle soreness caused by exercise is generally divided into two types: one is pain that occurs immediately after exercise, but disappears quickly, which is called acute muscle soreness. The other type occurs a few hours or overnight after exercise, accompanied by fatigue, and even muscle cramps and stiffness. This type of muscle pain disappears relatively slowly, and it often takes 3 to 4 days or even 6 to 7 days to fully recover. This symptom is called delayed muscle soreness or post-exercise fatigue.

Acute muscle soreness is generally explained by lactic acid accumulation. "Muscle movement requires energy supply just like a machine. However, the energy required by muscles is not electrical energy or thermal energy, but chemical energy released by the oxidation of energy substances such as sugar and fat in the body." In the presence of sufficient oxygen, such as when the human body is at rest, the sugars in the muscles directly break down into carbon dioxide and water, releasing a large amount of energy. However, when the human body is engaged in strenuous activities, skeletal muscles urgently need a large amount of energy. Although respiratory movement and blood circulation are greatly enhanced at this time, they still cannot meet the muscle tissue's demand for oxygen, causing the muscles to be temporarily hypoxic. Sugar breaks down in the absence of oxygen to produce a large amount of lactic acid. The lactic acid accumulates in the muscles and stimulates the nerve endings, which reflexively causes muscle soreness. At the same time, lactic acid is a hypertonic solution. When it accumulates in the muscles, it will absorb a large amount of water, causing muscle swelling, which is also an important cause of muscle soreness. However, after exercise, part of the lactic acid accumulated in the muscles is oxidized, and the other part diffuses with the blood, so the muscle soreness also disappears.

When we feel muscle soreness after exercise, we should replenish water in time and rub our thighs with our hands to help disperse the muscles and reduce swelling and soreness. Before exercising, we also need to do some preparation, stretch the ligaments appropriately, and relax the leg muscles, so as to reduce muscle pain after exercise.