How to overcome delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)

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If you do a hard workout or perform some physical activity you haven’t done in a long time, it’s normal to feel sore the next day. That muscle soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. In this video, I suggest five tricks to try the next time you experience DOMS to more quickly overcome delayed onset muscle soreness.

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Click the link above for more information about delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, and other resources to stay healthy and perform your best.

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FOAM ROLLER
Use a foam roller gently over the affected muscle groups. Better yet, use a foam roller after workouts to try to prevent the muscle tightness in the first place.

MASSAGE
Get a massage to loosen up the tight, painful muscles. Pro athletes use massage therapy on a regular basis. You should consider it too.

ICE, COLD, OR CRYOTHERAPY
Ice baths and whole-body cryotherapy might be extreme ways to use cold therapy to recover from hard workouts, but many avid weightlifters swear by it. If you want to use cold, but not go to such lengths, you could try a bag of ice or cold pack on your sore muscles.

WEAR COMPRESSION CLOTHING
Numerous apparel companies make form-fitting garments that aim to help you avoid muscle soreness after hard sessions in the gym or hard practices. You could wear them for a few hours after you train or even sleep in them.

TIME
Muscles affected by delayed onset muscle soreness will eventually recover. Sometimes the second day is worse than the first, but you will eventually feel better and be able to hit the weights again.

While research on DOMS doesn’t prove any one method can absolutely erase the effects of DOMS, these efforts might be worth a try.