Why does Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) happen with muscles? Why does it take your muscles 12-24 hours to become sore and feel pain, whereas with injuries the pain is instant and doesn’t buildup slowly over the days

Question

I just went to the gym this morning, and now I’m beginning to feel the pain. Afterwards I felt my muscle being fatigued and weak but there was no soreness/pain. Now 12 hours later I’m begging to feel the pain and by tomorrow morning I will be in a world of pain. Why does this happen?

In: Biology

Answer 1

When muscles are required to work harder than they’re used to or in a different way, it’s believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres, resulting in muscle soreness or stiffness.

DOMS is often mistakenly believed to be caused by a build up of lactic acid, but lactic acid is not involved in this process.