Due to day-to-day complications, it is increasingly difficult to exercise regularly.
If we add to this the fact that it is increasingly difficult to choose the time of the week to go out to exercise, since “it is usually the moment that chooses us”, and that, when we finally do, it is such a pain muscle that we have the days after training that it could well seem that a double box trailer and 16 wheels have passed over us…
In the end, we never decided to break the sedentary streak.
Shoelaces: preventing and combating them is possible
What is that pain that prostrates us for several days in bed as if it were a voodoo spell? Soreness (or delayed onset muscle pain “dmat”): we have all suffered from them at some point in our lives, and if not… from time to time.
The first thing to say is that soreness is post-fatigue muscle pain from having subjected certain regions to effort.
It has been shown that those activities with an eccentric phase are the ones that cause the most muscle damage, motivated by the high tensions to which the muscle is subjected (for example, those that introduce plyometric jumps, running downhill, etc.).
For this reason, activities such as cycling, swimming or elliptical machines are usually ideal for those who are new to exercise.
The peak of maximum intensity of the soreness occurs between 24 and 48 hours after physical practice.
To try to explain this phenomenon we will know the most generalized theories of its origin, and, although there are others, we will highlight the two most popular.
Origin of the laces:
– Although there are disparities of opinions, the most accepted theory is that of the micro-rupture of the weakest muscle fibers of the trained muscle.
This postulates that due to this micro-rupture of fibers, inflammation is generated and in turn pain due to the damage produced.
– Metabolic theory of lactic acid crystallization: this theory, which is now obsolete due to new research discoveries, concluded that soreness was caused by the crystallization of lactic acid in the muscles.
Hence, the false belief that they feel like needles digging into the muscle.
What to do to prevent stiffness?
The best way to prevent soreness is to make a correct adjustment of the loads in training, using exercise progressions that avoid extreme changes in volumes and intensities.
How to fight stiffness?
The controversy here is also important, depending on the source we read. The recommendations are to rehydrate properly during and after exercise and stretch after physical activity
. The use of electro-stimulation can also help promote blood flow and, therefore, the supply of nutrients that help recovery.
Another alternative (which should not be misused) is taking an anti-inflammatory analgesic, as it can mitigate pain, just as cold can cause us to delay our pain threshold. A gentle massage in the affected area can relax the muscle tissue, thus promoting drainage.
For the following days, the practice of light and regenerative physical activity (and therefore of low impact) that improves the blood flow together with a healthy diet and proper rest can benefit us in returning to our usual state more quickly.
Now you decide whether to be run over by the shoelaces, or be the one to run over them.