If you’ve worked out hard, you should be familiar with the post-exercise muscle soreness that usually sets in between 24-48 hr after the exercise period ended. This is known as Delay On Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Although you shouldn’t be afraid of this “good” muscle adaptation soreness (as opposed to pain from an injury), taking a rest until the soreness passes is not the best move for muscle recovery. Continue light exercise the next day, and make sure you eat protein, whole grain carbs, and plenty of foods high in antioxidants, such as like berries and omega 3 fatty acids to relieve the inflammation. What else can you do to expedite muscle recovery? In a study in which subjects experiencing DOMS they either iced the area for 20 minutes or used a menthol gel (3.5%), the latter experienced a faster muscle recovery and higher muscle contractions in the next session. Want to double the results? Another study shows that for actual injured muscles and/or tendons, when combined the menthol gel and ice increased the blood flow almost 10%, when compared to either treatment alone. (First study published in the International Journal of Physical Therapy. Second study published in the Journal of Athletic Training posted in Men’s Health magazine.)
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 12:04:09 +0000
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