What to do if your arms ache during exercise?

It is more scientific to determine the cause of arm soreness after exercise based on the part of the body that was exercised. It is quite normal if we feel arm soreness after arm muscle training. This is because our exercise breaks down the original muscle groups, produces lactic acid and other metabolites, which cause soreness. If the pain is caused by other reasons, such as contusion or other reasons, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Generally speaking, there are two types of muscle soreness: one is the 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.

The muscle soreness we often talk about mainly refers to the latter type, namely delayed onset muscle soreness.

There is a clear difference between muscle soreness and a strain. In fact, muscle soreness is a normal and positive physiological phenomenon. People often experience obvious muscle soreness and discomfort after strength training or an exercise that they are not used to (such as high intensity of exercise or a new sport). These symptoms will disappear naturally after a period of rest, and when the same exercise is performed again, the muscle soreness symptoms will be significantly reduced or will not occur. However, muscle strain caused by exercise is different. Muscle or ligament strain can cause large-area pathological changes in skeletal muscle, such as cell degeneration, cell necrosis, etc., which not only affects continued exercise or training, but may also bring more serious consequences.

In short, muscle soreness after exercise and muscle (or ligament) damage are completely different in nature. Muscle soreness can be relieved by rest, stretching, massage, etc. Muscle (or ligament) injuries must be solved by medical means.

Therefore, we must make reasonable judgments based on our own situation to determine which type of pain we are experiencing. If it is ordinary delayed soreness, then you just need to have a good rest and supplement with rich protein, such as beef, milk, etc., and you will recover. If it is a strain, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time to avoid delaying too long and causing more serious pain.