If you have overexerted yourself, you may feel muscle soreness after a workout. Although muscle soreness usually fades after a few days, you may use some remedies to speed up recovery. As you condition the body, you will likely experience less soreness overall. If the muscle pain worsens or does not go away, contract your doctor to rule out the possibility of serious injury.
Hot and Cold Therapies
A mix of cold and hot therapies is best to treat sore muscles that result from exercise. For the first few days after your workout, apply a cold pack to the sore area. Leave the cold pack on for a minimum of 20 minutes and repeat every few hours over the course of the day. The cold reduces the inflammation in the muscles. Once pain symptoms have desisted, use heat to relax the sore muscles. Hot baths or a heating pad may be used to apply heat in 20 minute intervals two to three times daily.
Pain Relievers
An over-the-counter pain reliever is an acceptable remedy for muscle soreness caused by exercise. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen reduces inflammation and eases pain associated with the injury. Take every four to six hours or as directed by your doctor.
Massage
Muscle aches from overuse can effectively be treated with massage, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. This relaxes the muscles and relieves soreness. If you visit a massage therapist, let her know where you are experiencing soreness before she begins the session. Use other methods to relax to help muscle aches, including deep breathing, yoga and mediation. Try to get plenty of rest at night, at least seven hours or more.
Warning
Avoid working the sore muscle after exercise. If you decide to continue to exercise, focus on other areas of the body. Once the muscle has healed, avoid overtraining the area. If you are using weights, choose a lower weight and reduce the number of reps. Once you feel less aches and pains, increase load and rep number.
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