Muscle soreness after an intense workout—often referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness—is a common experience for active individuals and athletes. While mild soreness can signal muscle adaptation and growth, excessive tightness and fatigue may indicate muscle strain and can negatively affect your performance and recovery time. So, how can you recover from sore muscles quickly and get back to training at your best? Here are four effective ways to relieve muscle soreness and speed up recovery.
(1) Stretching
Stretching is a good way to prevent sore muscles. Stretching your muscles for 15 minutes after a rigorous workout can loosen up muscles to avoid injury and relieve soreness. Spending time to cool down your muscles also helps your body recover faster. You can even roll a high-density foam roller on the sore muscles to minimize the tenderness.
(2) Using a Heating Pad and Ice Pack to Relieve the Pain
Using a heating pad and an ice pack alternatively is a speedy therapy to heal your body. Using a heating pad can diminish muscle soreness and boost blood circulation. In contrast, using an ice pack can contract blood vessels and slow down the metabolism. Warming and cooling effects can relieve muscle pain and soreness effectively.
(3) Getting a Massage
Massage sore muscles can release tension and relax your body. Self-massage is a great post-workout treatment to minimize the production of cytokines and compounds that cause inflammation. Meanwhile, massage can promote and repair cell functions.
(4) Compression Gear
Researches found that compression gear like compression socks can reduce muscle soreness significantly. Wearing compression gear helps to promote blood circulation and remove an enzyme “creatine kinase” in muscles that will cause muscle pain after exercising. This can shorten the recovery time of the body.