Does Lactic Acid Make Your Muscle Ache After Strenuous Exercise?

Everybody experiences muscle aches, particularly after strenuous exercise. The most common agent behind this is lactic acid or lactate. Lactate is formed in the muscles due to the incomplete breakdown of sugars during intense exercise. The pain is benign and can be treated with hot and cold compressions, stretching before and after exercise, and with an analgesic. Other causes of muscle swelling are due to pulled muscles or ligaments and delayed onset muscle soreness.

Formation

Lactate is formed from the breakdown of glucose, the energy-producing sugar of the body. When exercising, the muscles require extra energy to perform the increased work. However, because of the vigorous activity and the high demand for energy, oxygen is often not available to allow the complete breakdown of glucose into carbon dioxide and water. While this might create a shutdown in glucose metabolism, muscle cells shunt the byproducts to form lactic acid, as a temporary-by product. By doing so, they can continue utilizing glucose to as a source of fuel.

Pain After Workouts

The lactic acid that forms is rarely a problem unless it rises to extremely high levels. However, lactic acid thought to be responsible for the pain that occurs following strenuous exercise. According to "Textbook of Medical Physiology," the lactate-induced pain serves as a signal to your body to convey muscular fatigue. The pain usually occurs in the muscle groups that were involved most with the exercise regimen.

Treatment

According to Dr. J.C. Gerancher, this kind of pain is normal. The most important treatments for this pain are stretching before exercise. Another technique recommended by sports doctors is use a heat pack before exercise and an ice-pack following exercise. If the pain is severe, using an over-the-counter painkiller, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, is also helpful.

Other Causes

Lactic acid is not responsible for all muscle pain following exercise, although it probably is the most common. Muscle pain during an activity may indicate a pulled muscle. If this happens, rest, ice pack, compression and elevation of the limb, the so-called R.I.C.E. regimen, is usually helpful. An intense workout can cause delayed-onset muscle soreness, which usually occurs 12 to 24 hours following a workout. This is thought to be due to damage to small muscle fibers and irregular contraction of the muscles. This is best treated by rest and use of a painkiller.