Why does it take a day or two for muscles to become sore after a workout?
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**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).
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