asian female doing a yoga stretch to relieve soreness
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Overview

If your muscles are sore, you might wonder if you should continue with your workouts or rest. In some cases, active recovery practise like stretching and walking tin be beneficial to sore muscles. But the conclusion to continue depends on the severity of soreness and symptoms you're experiencing.

Read on to acquire more about when it'due south all right to work out sore, and when you lot should residue and recover.

If you're slightly sore, an "active" recovery may be benign. It may experience expert to:

  • stretch out sore muscles
  • do light resistance exercises, such as core strengthening workouts
  • do depression-intensity cardio, such equally walking or swimming

You lot can too focus on musculus groups that you didn't work previously. For case, add together in an arm weight conditioning the day after a run.

In addition to feeling expert, light recovery practise may offering other health benefits. Mobility, or total-range, exercises similar walking or like shooting fish in a barrel cycling lead to more blood pumping through the muscles. This increase in blood flow may help you recover from soreness sooner. That is, as long as you lot aren't overloading or challenging the muscles more.

Recovery exercises may even offer the same benefits as getting a massage. 1 study compared soreness in a group of participants 48 hours subsequently they performed upper trapezius muscle exercises.

Some participants received a 10-minute massage following the workout. Others performed exercises with a resistance ring. Researchers ended that both recoveries were equally effective in temporarily helping with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), but more research is needed.

Muscle damage and muscle growth

Microscopic tears in the musculus, or a breakup in muscle tissue, likely causes DOMS after a workout. Trying a new type of exercise or increasing the intensity can increase how sore you are in the days post-obit a workout.

Over time, though, your muscles get resilient to that do. They won't suspension down or tear as easily.

In response to micro tears, the body will use satellite cells to fix the tears and build them upward more over time. This protects confronting future damage and leads to muscle growth.

It's important to get enough protein in your nutrition and allow your muscles to rest for this procedure to occur.

Gentle recovery exercises tin be benign. But overtraining can be harmful and even dangerous for your wellness.

If you lot experience the following symptoms, it'due south important to take time off from exercise and allow your trunk to rest. Let your doctor know about whatsoever of the following:

  • increased resting heart charge per unit
  • low or mood changes
  • increased corporeality of colds or other disease
  • overuse injuries
  • musculus or joint hurting
  • constant fatigue
  • insomnia
  • decreased appetite
  • worsening of athletic performance or little improvement, even afterward residue

Soreness can feel uncomfortable, but shouldn't be very painful. The discomfort usually decreases 48 to 72 hours afterward.

Symptoms of an athletic injury may include:

  • sharp pain
  • feeling uncomfortable or nauseated
  • pain that won't go abroad
  • swelling
  • tingling or numbness
  • areas of black or blueish marks
  • loss of part to the injured expanse

If y'all experience these symptoms, see your doctor. They may recommend at-home treatments similar water ice or medication. For a more serious injury, your doctor may use X-rays to assist them program out further treatment.

To forestall DOMS, cool downwards later on exercising. Different a warmup, during a cooldown you're gradually bringing your heart rate down and adjusting your body dorsum to a resting state.

Kickoff with a gentle walk or easy spin on a stationary bike for v to 10 minutes. Stretching for the next v to 10 minutes tin can too help clear out lactic acrid from the body. Lactic acid builds upward when you practice and tin can cause a burning feeling in your muscles. Clearing information technology out will allow you lot to bounce back sooner when you next work out.

You can also use a foam roller to release any tension after practise.

In the days following your muscle soreness, these recovery workouts may help forbid or reduce soreness:

  • yoga
  • stretching or resistance band exercises
  • walking or easy hiking
  • swimming laps
  • like shooting fish in a barrel cycling

If you're starting a new fitness routine or trying a new blazon of exercise for the first time, it'southward of import to go slow at first. Gradually increasing the intensity and frequency of practice will help foreclose soreness. And call up to e'er get your doctor'due south approval earlier starting a new exercise routine.

Depending on your fitness level and how sore you are, yous can usually resume workouts inside a few days to a week following recovery. Work with a certified fettle professional to create an exercise regimen that'south condom and effective for yous.

In most cases, gentle recovery exercises similar walking or swimming are rubber if you're sore after working out. They may fifty-fifty be beneficial and help you recover faster. Merely it's important to remainder if y'all're experiencing symptoms of fatigue or are in pain.

Run across a md if you believe you're injured, or if the soreness doesn't go abroad after a few days.

Even professional athletes take days off. Working residue and recovery days into your regular practice routine will permit yous to perform meliorate the next time you hit the gym.