After training, there may be pain in the muscles. Sometimes it hurts to perform even the simplest actions and do not even want to move. Why do muscles ache after physical exertion? Is this normal and what should I do to make the pain go faster?
Muscles ache due to lactic acid
To make a muscle contraction, you need energy. It is formed during cellular respiration. Energy appears in the splitting of amino acids, glucose and fatty acids and the formation of macroergic bonds of ATP. Sometimes, especially if the muscles are untrained and work very intensively, oxygen is not enough. ATP is produced in anaerobic mode from muscle glycogen and without oxygen support, which provokes the release of lactic acid. Blood flow is difficult, it lingers in the fibers and causes muscle damage. Because of this, the muscles of the legs, arms, and the press after the physical load ache.
The more lactic acid is produced, the more intense will be the burning sensation after training. When the local blood circulation is restored, this acid is washed out very quickly and the pain becomes less expressive, but the microcracks on the muscles remain, and they may be ill for several hours or even days.
Causes of muscle pain
You exercise regularly and do not increase the load, but the pain after training is constantly? What to do and why muscles ache after physical activity? Unpleasant sensations in the muscle fibers can occur in the presence of various diseases in the body. So, very often after physical activity there are acute or pulsating pains in the muscles of athletes who have received ruptures or strains. In addition, hematomas, tumors, or bruising can also be seen.
If you have muscle aches after physical exertion, it can be myositis (inflammation of the muscle tissue). It provokes his appearance:
- Unusual overexertion during training;
- injury;
- viral infections.
How to avoid muscle pain after exercise?
To ensure that lactic acid is not excreted and the muscles are not sore, exercise should be regular. Muscular pain occurs only in beginners or in athletes who have had a long break in training, and they decided in a short time to get themselves in good shape in shock.
Avoid discomfort, you can gradually increase the load. There is an opinion that muscle pain after physical training is a sign that the muscles have worked well. But this is a delusion. The pain signals that the load was too heavy. Therefore, all exercises should be selected individually, and the weight of the shells increase gradually. Also, so that the muscle pain does not appear or was weakly expressed, always before physical activity do a "warming up" warm-up and hang up stretching.
How to eliminate muscle pain after physical exertion?
If there are minor painful sensations, then they can help to eliminate them:
- contrast shower ;
- light massage;
- tight bandage;
- a warm bath.
If you feel nauseous or vomiting and thus hurt your muscles after physical exertion, you will be helped by a good (passive) rest and copious
- Aspirin ;
- Ibuprofen et al.
Have you got swelling? Then you need to make a lotion with ice and apply Heparin ointment, which has anti-edematous effect and perfectly eliminates bruises. When there is no swelling, no bruising, you can use warming ointments that have a healing and anti-inflammatory effect, for example:
- Vipratox;
- Apizartron.