Muscle soreness is an inevitable part of exercise. More specifically called delayed onset muscle soreness, it can cause the muscles to be painful and stiff. This is part of the healing process that occurs when your muscles are stressed beyond what they are used to. Stiffness in the muscles results from muscle fibers that have lost their elasticity. Stiffness makes you more likely to strain a muscle and suffer an injury if you push it beyond its physical limits. Although stiffness subsides on its own after a few days to a week, you can treat your muscles to alleviate stiffness.
Step 1
Heat your muscles to relax the muscle fibers and encourage blood flow, which will support healing. You can do this by applying heat packs to the muscles, but saunas, hot tubs, or even taking a hot shower or bath can have the desired effect.
Step 2
Perform a light warmup exercise prior to normal exercise. Your warmup can be five to 10 minutes of walking, light jogging or easy bicycling -- just enough exercise to raise the heart rate slightly and encourage circulation in the muscles. Light stretching can also prepare the muscles for exercise. This will also warm up the muscles and reduce the risk of an injury.
Step 3
Exercise as you normally would, even if you have to reduce the intensity slightly while the stiffness persists. According to the "Chicago Tribune," taking time off from exercising can delay your muscles' recovery.
Tips and Warnings
- Abstain from exercising only if your muscles are painful when used -- this indicates a muscle strain.
- Although anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen can help relieve inflammation and pain in muscles, research suggests these only delay recovery and should be avoided, according to the "Chicago Tribune."
Things You'll Need
- Heat pack
