home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- $Unique_ID{BRK00842}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Is There Anything Special About Delayed Muscle Pain After Exercise?}
- $Subject{muscle sore soreness muscles exercise Musculoskeletal
- Connective Tissue delayed-onset structural damage eccentric heat analgesics
- rest exercises exercising}
- $Volume{M-23}
- $Log{
- Exercise Helps Strength and Flexibility*0003204.scf}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
-
-
- Is There Anything Special About Delayed Muscle Pain After Exercise?
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- QUESTION: If I exercise for any length of time, I can develop a muscle
- soreness that doesn't show up for two or three days. Is there anything
- special about this pain and what should I do to treat it?
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- ANSWER: This is called delayed-onset muscle soreness and is thought to be
- caused by structural damage to muscle fibers after a certain kind of exercise,
- and this damage takes longer to heal.
- When you lift a weight your muscles contract and you produce a force to
- raise the load against gravity, which is called "concentric" exercise. But
- when you lower the same weight your muscles produce the same amount of force
- to slow down the descent of the weight, which is called "eccentric exercise."
- Sports and exercise physiologists now believe that delayed-onset muscle
- soreness is caused by structural damage to skeletal muscle after eccentric
- exercise, in which muscles produce force while lengthening, as in running
- downhill.
- This damage may take as long as 12 weeks to be repaired by the body. So
- athletes should allow plenty of time for recovery after events that may cause
- extreme muscle soreness. Patience, along with heat, the appropriate use of
- analgesics and rest will be your allies in your recovery.
- Because training that involves eccentric exercise has been shown to
- prevent delayed-onset muscle soreness and muscle damage, you should pay
- special attention to the eccentric part of any exercise or sports you engage
- in. For runners this would mean running downhill during training as well as
- uphill. This will strengthen the eccentric part of your leg muscles, and thus
- help prevent structural damage. And prevention is always the best medicine.
-
- ----------------
-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
-
-