Whether you're an experienced exerciser or you've ever started a new fitness routine, you will know the feeling well. You are in a workout, you are feeling great, so you decide to increase the intensity and push yourself a little harder than planned. A smug feeling of progress oozes through your body. You go home triumphant.
But then you wake up the next day and... oh no. The muscle soreness kicks in.
Your feelings of smugness rapidly disappear and before you know it you're hobbling across your bedroom and you spend the rest of the day having to lower yourself painfully and slowly into your chair.
Now, I'm not going to promise you that I can cure all of your sore muscles after a workout with this article, but there is good news! There are tools that will help. Within this article you will find some tactics to limit your discomfort, helping you to recover faster and get back to your exercise routine.
First things first...
What Is Muscle Soreness?
Before we discover the best pain reliever for sore muscles after workout, let's make sure we know what we are dealing with. What is muscle soreness and what causes it? The technical name for it is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS for short. The symptoms of DOMS can range from slightly sore muscles all the way up to debilitating pain that can severely limit your movement. The exact cause of DOMS is disputed [1], but it is likely to be a mixture of the following elements:
lactic acid
muscle spasm
connective tissue damage
muscle damage
inflammation
and the enzyme efflux theories.
When we exercise, we put strain on our body. Our bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments are all put under stress and, following the exercise session, our bodies will prioritise recovery wherever it is needed. When we perform strenuous exercise, we create micro-tears in the muscle fibres. Our bodies then need rest, and adequate nutrition to repair this damaged muscle tissue. When this tissue is repaired, it comes back stronger so that our bodies are more resilient for future exercise demands. Muscle soreness is more likely to occur if the intensity of exercise is significantly increased or if your body is challenged in a way that it is not used to.
Why Is Managing Muscle Soreness Important?
Not to highlight the obvious here, but if we are incredibly sore... we will not want to exercise again, or we might not be able to exercise again anytime soon. If we are to maintain a consistent exercise schedule, we need to have the tools in our toolbox to manage muscle soreness or, even better, prevent it from happening in the first place. This article will provide you with the best pain reliever tips for your sore muscles after a workout, and you will find hitting your fitness goals more achievable.
Discover the Best Pain Reliever for Sore Muscles After Workout - The Options:
NSAIDs - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
One of the most popular routes for relieving muscle soreness is with the use of Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs work by reducing inflammation and alleviating pain. But do they work for DOMS? One research paper looking at the use of NSAIDs in relation to sport performance and pain, shows that there was no significant difference between those that used NSAIDs and those that did not.
This is where a lot of misinformation around inflammation can trip us up. Although 'reducing inflammation' may sound like a good thing, inflammation post-exercise is normal and plays an important role. When exercise causes temporary damage to muscles, the body reacts with an inflammatory response. There is a boost to the gene expression that regulate our muscle structure, metabolism and mitochondrial activity. This allows our bodies to adapt to the increased demands of exercise [2].
The anti-inflammatory impact of the NSAIDs may in fact negatively impact recovery by limiting the body's natural inflammatory response to exercise. So it seems that, although NSAIDs may provide short term relief, they don't reduce the overall impact of DOMS and also they may negatively impact our recovery.
Epsom Salt Baths
Now, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here... but I feel like that is exactly what I am about to do. There is no current evidence proving that epsom bath salts have a positive impact on reducing muscle soreness. They are a popular recommendation within many sport and fitness circles, but it seems that they certainly should not be up there as a best pain reliever for sore muscles after workout.
Are they doing any harm? Likely not.
Is there any benefit whatsoever? Likely not.
But if they make you feel better and they help you to enjoy a nice relaxing bath... then who am I to argue with you.
Foam Rolling and Massage Therapy
Foam rolling is used as a form of self-massage that claims to improve recovery and boost exercise performance.
So, does it work? A meta-analysis looking into the benefits of foam rolling [6] didn't have too many positive words to say about it. It explains that the effects of foam rolling on performance and recovery are rather minor (and partly negligible), however, the area where there might be some benefit was to reduce muscle pain sensation. To add to this, a couple of research papers here [4][5] show that foam rolling could reduce the feelings of muscle soreness by a moderate to large amount following exercise. However, both these papers used a small sample size, so the findings should be taken with caution.
So what about sports massage? There was a meta-analysis [7] looking into different recovery tools and the researchers found that professional massage seems to be the most effective method for reducing muscle soreness and the perception of fatigue.
So if you are looking for a relatively simple tool to try help reduce your muscle soreness after exercise, it seems that a sports massage will help, and foam rolling might also be worth a try!
Topical Pain Relievers
Another popular choice for relief of muscle soreness after a workout is from topical pain relievers. These can be found in cream or gel form which you apply directly to that area that is experiencing soreness. Some of these will contain NSAIDs to reduce inflammation, so the points listed above will stand. However, research hints towards topical pain relievers being a good choice. Compared to ice being applied, the topical menthol-based pain reliever decreased perceived discomfort to a greater extent and permitted greater muscular forces to be produced [3].
Active Recovery and Stretching
Active recovery refers to when you engage in low intensity exercise following an intense workout. A full 'rest day' would usually mean doing no physical activity at all. Whereas an 'active recovery' day would be doing some lighter (much lower intensity) exercise like walking, swimming or yoga. Performing active recovery may result in less pain and/or soreness after a workout. Research has shown [7] that performing 20 minutes of post-exercise active recovery, when using the same muscles as those used within the workout, can significantly reduce the feelings of soreness. Another meta-analysis [8] also showed that active recovery helped as a reliever of muscle soreness after workout, but did not help with perception of fatigue. Very promising!
But does stretching help to relieve sore muscles after workout?
In short: no. The research is fairly conclusive in showing that stretching does not help to relieve feelings of sore muscles after a workout [10]. There is some research that even suggest that stretching after a workout might actually increase our feelings of muscle soreness! Best to avoid this as a recovery tool.
Cold Water Immersion
Cold water immersion (ice baths) have grown in popularity over the last few years. Some of the health claims range from 'sensible' all the way to 'absolutely ludicrous'. Ice baths are mostly sold as a way to promote recovery and to reduce feelings of muscle soreness after workouts, but do they actually work?
The findings are mixed. Some research [8] seems to point to ice baths being beneficial in reducing our feelings of fatigue, but not so beneficial on reducing delayed onset muscle soreness. However, there are research papers [9] that found that ice baths helped to lower feelings of muscle soreness for both trained athletes and recreational exercisers.
If you enjoy plunging yourself into cold water, then it could be a handy tool. Just a friendly note here that fitness goals also come into play. Cold water immersion may help with recovery following cardiovascular exercise, however, there is also research showing that it may have a negative impact on building muscle size [11].
Discover the best pain reliever for sore muscles after workout - Conclusion:
There are a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to delayed onset muscle soreness. As with all fitness and nutrition approaches, I would recommend finding a recovery plan that works best for you and that brings you the most relief.
Looking through the research it appears that massage and active recovery seem to be the most effective tools for relieving sore muscles after a workout, but you may find some support from alternative methods. Finding the right balance of intensity and recovery will allow you to maintain your exercise routine without the need for long breaks waiting for muscle pain to subside.
For a personalised recovery plan, or if you need help in setting up your exercise routine to limit muscles soreness, click here to get in touch about online personal training. Or if you are looking for any extra muscle building tips, you can head here to discover the best supplements for muscle building.
References:
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12617692/
[2] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/11/new-study-explains-how-exercise-reduces-chronic-inflammation/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362986/#:~:text=The%20most%20important%20results%20of,produced%20as%20compared%20to%20ice.
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25415413/#:~:text=Substantial%20effects%20ranged%20from%20small,in%20most%20dynamic%20performance%20measures.
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33786041/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6465761/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27706260/
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932411/
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21947816/
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC119442/
[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31513450/#:~:text=CWI%20blunted%20resistance%20training%2Dinduced,if%20muscle%20hypertrophy%20is%20desired.
Written by Michael Ulloa.
A diet that provides you with adequate energy and enough protein is also key to your recovery! If you need help meeting your high energy demands, you will love our high calorie smoothie recipes and our high protein smoothies. Alternatively, if you're looking for high protein low calorie snacks then click here to find out more.
Comments