That Hammered Feeling
Simple steps to soften muscle soreness
By Matt Fitzgerald
As featured in the December 2003 issue of Running Times Magazine
Every runner is familiar with rising from bed the morning after a race or an especially long run feeling as if his legs had been tenderized with a sledgehammer during the night. More than an unpleasant feeling, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a symptom of muscle tissue damage that can seriously compromise the quality of your training. A recent Spanish university study found that DOMS reduced running economy by 5% in a group of subjects.
Many runners assume that DOMS is an unavoidable effect of hard running that we just have to live with, and it is true that the only way to avoid muscle soreness completely is to avoid hard running altogether. But there are several measures you can take to reduce the amount of soreness you experience during the training process, and thus reduce the impact of soreness on the quality of your training—without training any less hard. By practicing these techniques you will generally perform better in your key workouts and, as a result, get more out of them.
A Physiological Tug-o-War
DOMS is associated with the microscopic tearing of muscle fibers during activity that is either more intense or more prolonged than normal. When a muscle fiber is strained too far, the surface membrane breaks open and some of its chemical contents spill out, damaging other muscle tissue, activating nerve fibers, and initiating an inflammation response. The pain is probably associated with inflammation more than it is with the damage itself, which is why the soreness takes many hours to develop and often does not peak until two to three days after the workout or race. In addition to pain, other symptoms are loss of strength, stiffness, and decreased range of motion.
Training for Low-Pain Gains
Preventing soreness begins with the warm-up. Always precede any high-intensity running you do with easy jogging followed by stretching or flexibility drills (such as high knees and butt kicks). These precautions warm and lubricate the muscles, making the fibers less prone to tearing during the more intense portion of the workout. Likewise—and I know you’ve heard it a thousand times—you need to cool down thoroughly after your high-intensity workouts. Circulation is the primary facilitator of the muscle repair process after intense exercise. Finishing workouts with low-intensity activity keeps circulation levels up without further damaging muscle fibers and thereby kick-starts the recovery process.