Why does it take a day or two for muscles to become sore after a workout?
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It’s like, what causes the pain, the damage, or the repair? What makes your feel sick, the virus, or the immune response?
What you’re describing is called DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, and it’s the result of micro tears to the muscle tissue and connective tissues. DOMS is associated most with what are known as eccentric movements, i.e. lengthening a muscle while it’s flexing. The discomfort is the result of mild swelling as the body attempts to repair the damage.
**What causes soreness and pain after a workout?**
Damage in musculature, **microtears.** – This is the reason for DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) as someone has explained (many people mistake this pain being lactate) – Its not. BUT. This is just the explanation that most experts believe in *today*. Microscopic tearing of muscle fibers and connective tissue, which causes inflammation in the muscles. Untrained people feel DOMS more often because their muscles are not used to the training (not adapted). Lighter training and movements with full range of motion should make you avoid DOMS.
**What makes it hurt?**
Your body has signal molecules/local hormones that have different roles in your body. Some of them are:
1. Prostacyclins – Blood aggregation (stops blood coagulation)
2. Thromboxanes – They do the opposite ^ (they increase the stickyness of blood platelets)
3. Prostaglandins – Deal with damage and tears in musculature (more on this later)
4. Leukotrienes – They do the opposite ^ (deal with inflammation)
A part of the answer to what makes is hurt, is prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are secreted in the event of an injury (muscletears), e.g. starts an inflammatory process. This secretion makes your muscles become swollen and gives you more nourishment to the area of damage. However, there are a lot of other complicated processes involved too hat I will not get into.
**Why do these molecules make it hurt?**
Because when something becomes inflamed, the tissue swells, and when swelling of tissue occurs, there is less space. When there is less space – the tissue press on nerve endings that sends signals to your brain that it hurts
**Why is this process felt more after 1-2 days?**
Because, even though these processes are happening very fast, almost instantaneously, it will take some time for your body to fully respond to the damage.
Any questions, feel free to ask.
**TLDR:** DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) – caused by microtears in musculature (peak soreness at 48 – 72 h post-exercise) as a result of unfamiliar exercises or eccentric exercise which starts complex sequences of local and systemic physiological responses that gives muscle inflammation (which hurts).
No one really answered your question, so I will. It’s because a majority (like a huge majority) of your muscle repair is from sleeping, you can technically think of it as why does it take a sleep or two to start feeling DOMS?
The first sleep you’ll feel it a bit, it’s starting a big portion of the repair but hasn’t finished yet, then the second time you sleep, you’re onto nearly finishing, maybe even 80% which causes a lot more soreness. But this only really happens during your first time back at the gym.
Since this is ELI5: muscles were important for survival and it would be bad if your muscles hurt when you needed to use them. Instead they hurt later when you’re safely resting.
Literally asked my physiologist roommate the other day what was up with this. Apparently, nobody really knows but basically sleep is when a lot of regeneration happens. Instead of doing other stuff to keep you going, your body gets a break while sleeping to focus on repairing the things that had to be turned on all day.
The feeling of soreness in your muscles after a workout is called DOMS, which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It is caused by tiny tears in your muscle fibers that occur when you exercise, especially if you are new to working out or you are pushing yourself harder than usual. The soreness usually starts 12 to 24 hours after exercising and peaks around 48 to 72 hours later. DOMS is a normal and expected part of working out, and there are a few things you can do to help ease the discomfort, like stretching, foam rolling, and taking a warm bath.
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