How to get rid of muscle pain after training and physical activity: some useful tips. Causes of muscle pain after training Muscle pain after training how to reduce pain

1. A cup of coffee, drunk 30-40 minutes before training, increases muscle endurance. Scientific research shows that athletes who do not give up coffee can train longer and are less tired during training. One of the reports from the International Coffee Organization (ICO) even shows that 100-150 mg of caffeine, that is, approximately as much as is contained in one cup of coffee, can reduce muscle fatigue, especially during aerobic exercise.

2. After training, drink freshly squeezed cherry juice or eat 100-200 grams of its berries(due to the lack of fresh ones, you should not ignore frozen ones) - and the muscles will hurt less. Cherries have long been used in folk medicine as a painkiller and stamina enhancer. This is largely due to the polyphenol and coumarin compounds that it is rich in: they tone the body and increase its regenerative abilities.

3. Take your time during the workout itself, don’t push yourself, if the trainer advises you to rest between “sets,” don’t shorten the rest time: the muscles need this time to recover. In addition, with each repetition, the production of lactic acid, a kind of “by-product” that forms after active physical activity and affects the body’s pain receptors, increases in the muscle fibers. The longer and stronger the load, the more lactic acid accumulates, the stronger the muscle pain. And during breaks, some of the lactic acid is absorbed into the blood and excreted from the body.

4. Finish your workout with stretching exercises– they provide blood flow to the muscles, promote their faster relaxation, thereby reducing subsequent pain.

5. After an active workout: heat perfectly relaxes muscles and very quickly removes excess lactic acid from the body. If you feel like you overtrained today, go to the steam room: the next day the pain will be minimal.

6. Train with breaks of 1-3 days. Otherwise, microtraumas that muscle fibers receive during active training(especially if you prefer strength exercises), will not have time to heal. It is also recommended to alternate the load on different groups muscles so that they have time to recover normally.

7. Watch your diet! Provide your body with enough protein and healthy carbohydrates. The former are necessary for muscles to quick recovery(if due to strong physical activity the body loses more protein than it receives - muscle pain, a feeling of weakness and loss of strength are inevitable). Carbohydrates are the main source of energy: if you don’t have enough of them, your muscles will quickly get tired.

8. Drink water during training It is especially important not to suffer from thirst if you train for a long time and at full strength. As practice shows, banal dehydration of the body, dehydration, is one of the most common reasons rapid fatigue and nagging muscle pain that occurs from playing sports.

Text: Tatyana Maratova

Muscle pain after training is a common occurrence, and you shouldn’t be afraid of it. However, you shouldn’t think that this is a sign of health either. Muscle pain after training usually indicates overexertion; it can occur in both beginners and experienced athlete.

The main thing is rest

The right attitude towards muscle pain after workouts It will help, first of all, to get rid of discomfort, and of course, it will allow you to quickly return to your previous sports rhythm. If the pain does not go away for more than a week, this may already be a sign of injury, in which case it is better to consult a doctor immediately rather than seek advice on sports forums in the Internet. If a little time has passed, then you can independently find a way to relieve muscle pain after training.

Obviously, after intense physical activity, the muscles need to rest. Rest is needed to give muscle fibers time to recover. While muscle pain does not go away after training, avoid re-straining it.

Massage helps restore blood flow and relax muscles. You can do the massage yourself, with your hands or with an electric massager. Although, of course, it will be better if you find time to make an appointment with a professional massage therapist.

How to reduce muscle pain after exercise: ibuprofen, heat and yoga

If muscle pain after training completely interferes with your life, you can take a painkiller. Simple, over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help. By the way, avoid taking too much ibuprofen as it can irritate the stomach lining.

Another simple way to help get rid of muscle pain after exercise is a hot shower or bath. Heat dilates blood vessels, restoring circulation, and relaxes muscles. A steam room in a spa will have the same effect. If you choose this option, be sure to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

Sometimes you can take a risk and start doing light stretching exercises. This could be yoga movements or swimming. The point is to prevent the muscles from getting hard, which can make them sore and hurt even more. Stretching exercises keep blood flowing to the muscles and relax them. The main thing is to avoid strenuous physical activity, such as strength training or weight training.

Which is also called sore throat, is a completely natural phenomenon that does not require any special treatment. It usually appears about 12 hours after intense physical activity, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, for each individual. What are its causes, and how to get rid of it? Let's take a closer look.

The main causes of pain in the muscles

Previously, it was believed that the culprit was lactic acid, which is released in copious amounts in the muscles after any physical activity. This is a natural phenomenon, but the removal of lactic acid from tissues may be accompanied by some discomfort, aching limbs, and pain. Although today more and more researchers are inclined to believe that the main cause of pain is microtrauma in muscle tissue, and subsequent inflammation as a result of these injuries.

The more regular training passes, the less muscle fibers become susceptible to injury. They lengthen, become more elastic, and over time the pain may not be felt at all. At first, when an untrained person develops sore throat, it goes away on its own. But if the workout was too active and intense, the pain may last for several days.

It is very important to listen carefully to your sensations: too much pain in one specific area that does not go away for more than 3 days may indicate a muscle strain or even an injury to a joint, ligament, or tendon. It is also important to avoid overtraining and fully recover between classes. And in order to reduce muscle pain and alleviate your condition, we decided to tell you about some tricks that allow you to do this.

Get some sleep
Sleep is the best secret of recovery, when the whole body rests, and important regeneration processes take place in every cell. The same applies to muscles - they heal precisely during sleep, when growth hormone is “active”. But you need to sleep fully - at least 7-8 hours a day (and you especially cannot neglect the number of hours of sleep immediately after training), and it is also advisable to go to bed before midnight.
Go to the bathhouse
Bath procedures, as well as a visit to the sauna, can warm up your muscles very well. Metabolic processes in them (as well as the elimination of lactic acid, which causes discomfort) will accelerate, the pain will go away, and you will feel better. An excellent option for “home” use, if you can’t go to the bathhouse, is a hot bath. But it should last at least 20-30 minutes, and after it it’s good to alternate cold and hot showers, and finish with a cold one - this will relieve inflammation.

Go for a massage
To help muscles recover faster, massage helps a lot. And not only a back massage, but a whole body massage. A good experienced massage therapist will give you a massage that will provoke the outflow of lymph from the limbs and large muscle groups working during any workout, and this will give its results in acceleration metabolic processes in muscle tissues, in increasing their elasticity, and in relieving pain, respectively.
Be sure to warm up and cool down
Warming up allows you to warm up your muscles before the actual strength work, which will reduce the risk of injuries and sprains. And stretching afterwards is absolutely necessary like air - to increase the elasticity of the muscle, to relax it, to drain lactic acid and increase blood circulation. Okay after power loads attend a stretching class - it increases the flexibility of the whole body.
Make your workouts regular
If you're just starting to train, don't push yourself too hard. Start with minimal weights or no weights at all at first. The load must be increased very slowly and gradually to avoid injury to joints and muscles. For the same reason, be sure to pay attention to the technique of doing the exercises. Training must be regular. If you miss many days between classes, do not be surprised that soreness will always haunt you, because in this case the muscle fibers have time to shrink back, they do not become longer and more elastic, which leads to pain.

Mild muscle soreness after a good workout is normal, but when it gets in the way of your progress, it's time to take action!

If your workout session leaves you feeling like you've been hit by a truck at full speed, it's time to learn about ways to prevent or at least reduce post-workout muscle soreness.

Many people, especially novice athletes, believe muscle pain something like a rite of passage into the world of serious strength training. The problem is that if you can't lift your arms or get out of bed because of pain, you don't have the opportunity to exercise properly. In such a situation, it is time to take measures that will help reduce this pain.

Of course, some degree of pain is normal - it shows that in the gym you have stressed your muscles and given them new training stimuli. But if the pain is so severe that it is difficult for you to move, there is no need to talk about any progress.

With these five adjustments, you can make post-workout pain tolerable.

1. Don't avoid training, just make it easier

Many people think not the best way get rid of pain quickly rather than rest as long as possible between workouts. A great excuse for those who are so paralyzed by pain that they can't even move, but a complete refusal of physical activity is the last thing you need.

Getting out of bed and moving around will help increase circulation to the painful area, which can reduce inflammation and speed up the healing process.

Whatever exercise you choose, do it at a low intensity. You don't need an epic workout at this point. Better try something active, like a walk briskly, leisurely or yoga classes for beginners. These types physical activity Great for exercising despite muscle pain.

2. Before leaving the gym, stretch!

What do you do after completing your last set? Are you trying to get to the locker room as quickly as possible? Next time, find a quiet place in the gym where you can stretch and stay there for 10-15 minutes.

Stretching after exercise helps release muscle tension and reduce the buildup of lactic acid that leads to muscle pain. Stretching may not completely eliminate your pain, but it can help reduce its intensity, making your next workout less painful and more productive.

In addition, regular stretching - great way increase the range of motion, and this will definitely come in handy during strength training. When you are able to do an exercise through its full range of motion, you can reap all the benefits it has to offer.

On good stretching 10-15 minutes at the end of the workout is enough. Once you see how much your well-being has improved, you will never give up stretching again!

3. Take the Right Post-Workout Supplements

After stretching, it's time to throw some nutrients into your body. You've probably heard that protein cocktail, taken after a workout, speeds up recovery, but did you know that it also helps reduce muscle pain?

In the Journal of International Society sports nutrition» the results of an interesting study have been published. A group of scientists divided the experiment participants into two groups. Over the course of 14 days, they gave one group whey protein isolate while the second group received a whey protein supplement.

Analysis of blood biochemistry after strength training showed that in the group that received , the level of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase in plasma was lower than in the carbohydrate group. Reduced lactate levels indicate less muscle damage in those who took Whey Protein, and it also reduces muscle pain.

4. Take pre-workouts - with caffeine

If you need an extra boost to get through a training session, a good one comes to the rescue. These products are specially designed to sharpen perception, improve concentration, enhance energy levels, increase energy levels and stimulate metabolism. They can even enhance your body's fat-burning potential.

Additionally, if your pre-workout contains , it can also reduce muscle soreness. In a study published in the Journal of Power and functional training", compared two groups of athletes. The former received caffeine before training, the latter received a placebo. In the caffeine group, there was a significant decrease in the intensity of pain in the days after the experiment compared to the placebo group.

Just remember that too high doses of caffeine can lead to insomnia, and adequate and long-lasting caffeine is an important component of the recovery process. Try to find the optimal dose and perfect time to provide caffeine so you can train at maximum intensity without compromising your sleep.

5. Try cherry juice!

Finally, drink a serving of cherry juice before your next training session. In a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Sports Medicine and Science, researchers examined the effects of cherry juice on marathon runners.

Half of a group of 20 runners drank cherry juice the day before the marathon and 48 hours after. The other half drank a placebo. In the group that received cherry juice, restoration of isometric strength indicators occurred faster than in the placebo group.

This suggests that cherry juice has antioxidant properties that promote muscle function and recovery, as well as reduce muscle pain.

A balanced diet and exercise allow a person to make their body athletic and fit. However, you don’t always feel a surge of strength and lightness after class. Every athlete knows such an unpleasant phenomenon as muscle pain after training. How to get rid of such discomfort? What are its reasons?

Main sources of the problem

The following are known reasons why severe muscle pain may occur after exercise:

Accumulation of lactic acid. This is the most common reason. During exercise, lactic acid gradually accumulates in the muscles. It causes a rather unpleasant burning sensation. However, during physical activity, lactic acid spreads throughout the body through the bloodstream. But after classes it accumulates in muscle tissue and provokes unpleasant discomfort.
Microtraumas muscle fibers. This pain does not disappear after 2-3 hours. On the contrary, it is intensifying. The pain can be especially noticeable the day after training. Microtraumas are based on strong physical exertion, which led to the slightest ruptures. Over time, they will heal and the discomfort will subside. Beginning athletes experience exactly this type of muscle pain after the first workout.
Serious injuries. We are talking about sprains. In such cases, the pain occurs extremely sharply. It is quite strong and appears at the moment of injury.
Muscle pathologies that are accompanied by myalgia. This is severe tension and pain in muscle tissue. Such ailments are myopathy and myositis. Feature Such manifestations are the occurrence of pain under any load. Sometimes unpleasant sensations can appear even in a state of calm.

Elimination of discomfort

Every athlete should know (since anyone can experience muscle pain after training) how to get rid of this unpleasant condition.

If the pain is caused by the accumulation of lactic acid, then effective treatment lies in small physical exercise. Such a load will be an excellent stimulator for the muscles and will significantly improve blood circulation. As a result, lactic acid will be washed out of tissues faster. For example, if you feel pain after a workout, then a regular walk or bike ride is perfect.
In case of serious injury, it is extremely dangerous to self-medicate. With such pathologies, the athlete needs immediate medical attention.
Water procedures. A relaxing hot bath will greatly ease your suffering. It will ensure vasodilation. As a result, blood flow will improve. A contrast shower is also useful.
Drink plenty of fluids. This measure improves kidney function. As a result, breakdown products, which include lactic acid, are removed from the body much faster.
Proper nutrition. increase discomfort. How to reduce muscle pain after exercise? It is recommended to provide the body with antioxidants that fight radicals. To do this, you should enrich your diet with herbs, citrus fruits, fruits, and vegetables.
Massage. The procedure will increase blood flow in muscle tissue and thereby help get rid of any discomfort. Rub the disturbing areas and pat them. You can use a special massager.
Sauna, bathhouse. Heat will greatly improve blood flow and help you relax.

Folk remedies

When faced with unpleasant discomfort, every athlete always thinks about how to relieve muscle pain after training? Folk remedies can help.

Badger fat. This component should be used to lubricate the areas of concern.
Cabbage leaf. Initially, it is recommended to wrinkle it a little. Then the leaf is applied to the painful area.
Pepper tincture. This component is intended for local use. It is recommended to lubricate painful areas with it.

Use of NSAIDs

Any athlete can experience muscle pain after exercise. How to get rid of it? Especially if the discomfort is quite strong?

You can use a drug that is part of the NSAID group. It will reduce pain and reduce inflammation in the damaged area.

The most commonly used medications are:

"Nurofen";
"Ibuprofen";
"Aspirin".

However, you should not use these tools often. After all, they can have quite a negative effect on the stomach and liver. In addition, such medications will only temporarily reduce sensations, but will not provide healing. You should know that frequent use of NSAIDs can slow down the body's recovery processes.

Vitamin preparations

A variety of medications effectively help restore the human body. They are often used in sports practice. They allow you to replenish expended energy and support the body during intense physical activity.

A special place among medications is given to vitamin complexes. After all, a lack of essential substances leads not only to loss of performance, but also to increased pain. Therefore, it is recommended not only to properly balance your diet, but also to take multivitamins. So, how can you reduce muscle pain after exercise?

"Aerovit";
"Dekamevit";
Vitamin E;
"Undevit";
Vitamin C;
"Glutamevit";
"Tetravit";
Vitamin B.

Plastic preparations

This group of medications has a fairly beneficial effect on the athlete’s body. Sometimes a very obvious question arises: “If muscle pain appears after training, what should you do about it?” The doctor may recommend special medications that can significantly improve a person’s condition.

Plastic action medications provide the following effects:

accelerate protein synthesis;
stimulate the flow of biochemical processes;
restore cell structure.

Thanks to these properties, the drugs help maintain high performance and prevent physical overexertion. In other words, such medications are often prescribed to athletes who are interested in the question: “If muscle pain occurs after training, how to get rid of it?”

List of plastic drugs:

"Potassium orotate";
"Riboxin";
"Cocarboxylase";
"Cobamamide";
"Carnitine";
"Lipocerebrin";
"Lecithin-cerebro".

Energy drugs

Medicines belonging to this group accelerate the restoration of expended resources. They provide the body's resistance to conditions such as hypoxia. Medicines support the functioning of the myocardium, brain, and liver.

These drugs include:

"Panangin";
"Asparkam";
"Calcium glycerophosphate";
"Glutamic acid";
"Calcium gluconate";
"Methionine."

Adaptogen group

How to relieve muscle pain after exercise? Adaptogens provide a tonic effect on the body and increase resistance to intense physical activity. They are especially effective in conditions of sudden climate changes and hypoxia. However, such drugs have contraindications, so you should definitely consult a doctor about their use. In addition, these medications can be addictive.

Effective adaptogens are the following drugs:

"Ginseng";
"Eleutherococcus extract";
"Chinese lemongrass";
"Pantocrine";
"Aralia Manchurian";
"Sterculia platanofolia";
"Radiola pink";
"Tall enticement";
"Leuzea sofloroides."

Sports creams, ointments, gels

Local medications are often used to restore the body after physical activity.

Post-workout muscle pain ointment provides:

improvement of lymph and blood circulation;
relaxing tissues and increasing their elasticity;
restoration of the metabolic process;
removal of metabolic products;
relief from discomfort in ligaments, muscles, joints.

However, these drugs affect the body differently. Some cause tissue heating, others provide a cooling effect. For example, for acute injuries, warming medications are completely unsuitable. To eliminate swelling and inflammation, it is recommended to use a cooling ointment for muscle pain after exercise. The best drugs are Troxevasin and Venoruton.

Before using such medications, be sure to consult your doctor. It is important to remember that these remedies affect each person differently.

When explaining how to relieve muscle pain after exercise, most often the doctor prescribes the following topical medications:

"Apisatron";
"Virapip";
"Troxevasin";
"Viprosal";
"Vipratox";
"Gevkamen";
Balm "Sanitas";
Tiger ointment;
"Richtofit-sport";
"Gymnastogal";
Heparin ointment;
"Heparoid";
"Efkamon";
"Nicoflex";
"Gevkamen";
"Finalgon";
"Venoruton";
Turpentine ointment;
"Menovazin".

Application of compresses

Post-workout pain can be eliminated in a simple way. Compresses are quite effective and easy to use.

However, you should first familiarize yourself with the basic rules:

Compresses can only be used in consultation with a doctor.
After injury, in case of acute pain, such treatment is not used for 2 days.
Apply compresses in the following way. Take a gauze pad. It should completely cover the painful area. Wet it as directed. Apply ointment to the damaged area. Cover the top with a moistened napkin. Apply a layer of cotton wool. The use of plastic film is strictly contraindicated. Secure with a bandage (preferably not elastic). The bandage should not cause swelling or compress the tissue.

The following compresses are considered the most effective:

Bandage with Vaseline oil. Lightly moisten the cloth and apply it to the damaged area.
Compress with semi-alcoholic vaseline oil. The area is lubricated with oil, and the top is covered with a napkin soaked in vodka (be sure to be wrung out).
Compress with Vishnevsky ointment and alcohol. This is done by analogy with the method described above.

Remember that you will be helped to avoid severe pain regular classes, carefully planned by the coach.