Muscle Pain and Soreness After Exercise - Everything You Need to Know

One of the many causes of Obesity is Lack of Exercise. It is well known fact that starting an exercise routine is hard, maintaining that is even harder! There are many Exercise Barriers that decrease your enthusiasm towards fitness, "Muscle Pain, Soreness and Stifffness after Exercise" is one topic that often goes undiscussed because people feel shy to let others know why they are not keeping up their exercise routine, and it is often thought that it will make them feel physical weak for having not enough strength or normal pain tolerance. But that's NOT TRUE!  Read more to know why..

Stiff, Sore and Aching Muscles

Its very common to feel sore and have aches, stiffness after starting a new physical activity or changing your regular physical routine by pushing yourself harder than usual. The scientific term is Delayed Onset Muscle Sorenee (DOMS). It can show-up a day or two once you start exercising or inorporate new (harder) moves in to your regular routine, change the duration or intensity of your workout etc. And your physical fitness level doesn't matter as it can affect anyone, from those who've been exercising for years, to even athletes!

What Happens?

DOMS occurs when our muscles are made to work harder than our existing limits, beyond what we are used to. It is beleived that this leads to microscoping damage to our muscle fibres (sound scary? don't worry, it normal!) resulting in pain, stiffness and soreness.

Should You Worry?

This pain is not pleasing at all, a bugbear for people who are new to exercising and even dent their enthusiam for fitness, but did you know that this temporary discomfort is actually a sign of your improving fitness level?

The soreness is a part of an adaptation process, gradually leading to a increased stamina and new strength. As the muscles recover and build, they get used to the new and harder physical demands, and become stronger everyday.

Should You Continue Exercising?

Though it can be uncomfortable to begin with, you can continue to exercise. Warming up before exercise should be helpful (the soreness goes away whent he muscles are warmed up but comes back as they cool down after exercise, but that is only till your body adapts the new routine).

Alternating the moves/steps to allow most affected mucles adequate rest is important. For example, work your upper body one week and upper body the other week, taking adequate intervals in-between., Similarly, alternating between strength and flex, and running or yoga is also good choice. Or if you find it difficult to exercise, you can rest until the soreness goes away that typically takes 2-3 days.

Can You Prevent DOMS?

There is no 100% evidences, but starting gently and increasing intesity/duration gradually, allowing time for the muscle to adapt to new movements slowly is the best way to prevent/minimise DOMS. Also, warming up well before excercise is also said to reduce the chances of injury and better performance, hence, less chances of soreness post workout. Likewise, stretching before or after exercise also helps.

How Can You Treat the Soreness?

The discomfort due to pain, stiffness and soreness is annoying. These symptoms are said to be improved by:

• Rest
• Applying Cool-packs
• Massaging
• Pain-killers (DOMS generally doesn't require medical intervention, but you should seek medical advice if the pain becomes unbearable or desables your normal/daily tasks).

Is DOMS Good or Bad?

DOMS is a type of muscle conditioning that makes your muscle adapt a new level of strength. The next time you perform same activity with same intensity, there will be less muscle tissue damage which means there'll be less soreness, and a faster recovery!

So don't be put-off or let it be your excuse to skip or stop exercising. But make yourself well informed about the whole thing so you know what to expect and how to manage this.

CAUTION !

DOMS should not be confused for any other type of pain during or after exercise, such as sharp, acute and sudden pain due to muscle sprain or strain. You should see your family health adviser if that happens.

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Dr. R. K. Mishra (during a Fitness Run)

By- Dr. R. K. Mishra, Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon

SIPS Hospital, 29 Shah Mina Road, Lucknow-226003

Mail at- mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com

Visit- www.MyCosmeticSurgery.in

Call/Whatsapp- +91 9795800800

Thank you for visiting this blog, please subscribe to stay updated with more of such content. We welcome your inputs and suggestions on mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com

7 Exercise Blockers You Did Not Know About

Exercise is a great way to keep your body and mind healthy, active and fit. Some people find the exercise is best part of their day and most enjoyable. For others, it is a medium to socialize, connect and befriend with likeminded people around them. It is also an excellent way to relieve mental pressure, to expand your world, to make you a better person inside and out.

While you can never get enough reasons to exercise, there are even more “blockers” to exercise that prevent you from doing it. Let us learn about them, and how to find a way to overcome.

No Time for Exercise – It is the most common blocker. There is nothing like not having enough time, it’s all about priorities. You have to prioritize exercise like your other important tasks. Don’t let your brain decide that it can be skipped because if you do, you are most likely to find excuse to skip it. Train your brain to prioritize exercise so it fits in no matter how tight is your schedule, spare 10 minutes (if not much) to start with a regular routine of exercise and increase gradually. Whether you are a parent, student, home maker, businessman or employee, you can never be too busy to ignore your health, right?!

I’m too tired- Well, It may be not the actual physical tiredness but mental fatigue that stops you from exercising, and you may feel new boost of energy after a session of exercising at the end of days’ hard work. Feeling tired is often a symptom of lack of physical stamina so you need to exercise more to build that up.

I am not a Exercise Person- Nobody on earth can survive a healthy long life without some kind of regular physical activity, our bodies are made for it so all you have to do is to find your way to burn calories and enjoy doing it. It can be dancing to your favorite tunes, cycling, or simple walking or running. In fact, walking is a great way to start with, it has other numerous health benefits too.

I cannot do such hard work- You see people sweating profusely at the gym, and think you have to achieve that too, that’s not very wise because if you try to do too much from the beginning, you are very likely to feel discouraged. Work it slowly; try to enjoy what you do. And most importantly, never do something that you think is a “punishment” because you’ll only eat more later to “reward” yourself.

Lack of Willpower- It is common to not feel like exercising if you are not motivated. Finding a common group of people or an exercise buddy will be helpful because you will have someone to report to which will ensure that you are answerable if you do not turn up and it will encourage you to exercise regularly.

The Weather Excuse- Blaming weather for not going to exercise is just another blocker, but if you have joined a training program or have an exercise buddy who encourages you to come out, you are less likely to skip exercise. Or even you can make arrangements for exercising at home in such situations like walking the stairs a number of times, doing exercises that are suitable for at-home environment. Yoga is a very good option.

The Rhythm Breakers- Its tempting to fall prey of common rhythm breakers like Festivals, holidays, pregnancy, health-issues or job-transfers etc. and getting back to your well-formed routine is never easy. But the solution is to find a spark to motivate you again, here is a list of smart tips to help you get back to your exercise routine easilty.

Resistant Fat that don't go away Ever- For people who exercise regularly but still find it hard to get rid of stubborn fat bulge on tummy, flanks, thighs and arms etc. Liposuction is best option as it can effectively remove resistant fat and reshape your natural curves.

For Tummy-Bulge- Those who are worried about the hangging shape of their tummy despite regarly exercsising (often after pregnancy/major weight loss), Tummy-tuck is best way to get back slimmer waist and flat tummy.

By- Dr. R. K. Mishra, Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon
SIPS Hospital, 29 Shah Mina Road, Lucknow-226003

Mail at- mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com

Visit- www.MyCosmeticSurgery.in

Call/Whatsapp- +91 9795800800

Thank you for visiting this blog, please subscribe to stay updated with more of such content. We welcome your inputs and suggestions on mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com.

Enjoy Festive Season and Stay Fit

With Navratri, the season of festivities just annouces its arrival in India and one of the biggest Indian festivals- "Diwali" is just around the corner. People are fully gearing up to indulge in holidays that bring a lot of things in this festive season such as variety of eateries, new clothes, parties & get-togethers. While these festivals are everything to be happy about, they also bring a pause to your exercise routine- the routine that took you a lot of effort to establish and it is often difficult to resume with same dedication once the festivites get over. Not just the festivals, in fact any such rhythm breaker (pregnancy, holidays, job-transfers or health issues etc.) makes you fall off the wagon and then you just keep postponing the idea of getting back to exercising that seems to never happen. So what should you do?

You should try these tips and we assure you that they work all the time-

Find Company- Finding an exercise buddy or joining someone for exercise is a great way to keep the rythm going for both of you because this way you have to report to someone for every session of exercise and you are answerable if you do not show up for exercise. You can encourage each other and try doing what you both enjoy.

Getting a New Exercise Gear- The idea is to find a spark that pushes you to start again, so it is the right time for gifting yourself your favorite exercise gear that you wanted for long time.

Register on Exercise App- It's easy and very popular these days. You feel encouraged when you can see your daily report of hard work as these apps keep tracking the level and amount of your physical activities. You have mobile, put it to the right use!

Join Exercise Group- It's even better to exercise with people who have same goals in mind- getting fit and staying fit. In groups, people also have a lot of fun exercising.

Join a local sports event- Running marathon, swimming/climbing/jumping competition, yoga challenge etc. all of these and many other events keep happening in our areas. You just have to search for the right one and sign-up. They even put some reward, and its another reason to keep you motivated.

Sign-up for Training Course- Local gyms often have short-term training courses like marathon, 12-weeks challenge for toned thighs or things like that. You search for what matches with your goal and get enrolled.

Remember that you may feel tired and sore, but consider all these as just excuses and common blockers. Keep the fire alive by adding one or all of above tips to amp-up your exercise routine. After all, you have to look great on all occasions, fit in all your festival outfits and feel good inside-out!

You were born to stay physically active, otherwise you might have been a bear ;-)

By- Dr. R. K. Mishra, Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon

SIPS Hospital, 29 Shah Mina Road, Lucknow-226003

Mail at- mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com

Visit- www.MyCosmeticSurgery.in

Call/Whatsapp- +91 9795800800

Thank you for visiting this blog, please subscribe to stay updated with more of such content. We welocome your inputs and suggestions on mycosmeticsurgery@gmail.com.