Post-exercise aches & pains - what causes them?
After exercise, its normal to feel muscle aches and pains, especially if you haven’t been so active recently.
Working with a soft tissue practitioner and receiving a massage treatment targeted to your specific aches and pains, will speed up your recovery time and maximise strength and performance. Massage realigns and smooths muscle tissue fibres and removes areas of tension before they become an issue for you.
The cause of the pain is usually due to two main factors:
Firstly Lactic acid - which is the waste accumulated in the muscles after energy metabolism from exercise. If lactic acid accumulates in the muscles in large quantities, it can cause fatigue and muscle aches. But these types of aches usually subside within a few hours of your workout, as the body will eliminate the lactic acid from the muscles using the circulatory systems. If these circulatory system are overwhelmed or overworked however lactic acid can remain in the tissues causing lasting pain.
Secondly Muscle tissue inflammation – this pain typically occur 1-2 days after the physical activity, but the pain can take anywhere from 3-5 days to subside, depending on the condition of the body. This delayed pain, DOMS (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness), usually occurs in people who have just started exercising, or those who exercise but have recently changed something in their routine (an increase in frequency or volume).
You shouldn’t normally be worried about post-exercise pain as it isn’t really harmful to the body, your body has natural mechanisms to repair and strengthen soft tissue, pain is one of these mechanisms, ensuring you avoid further strenuous movements until the repairs are complete.
You can to to expedite your recovery time and ensure your bodies natural repair mechanisms optimise your strength and build your endurance by working with a soft tissue practitioner. Massage is not a luxury. It’s a proven natural method to maintain health and has the benefit of giving you some much needed YOU time.
Jo
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