What really works when your muscles are screaming at you after a workout
You wake up the morning after leg day and realize you can’t sit down on the toilet without making involuntary noises. Walking down stairs feels like a personal attack. And forget about picking anything up off the floor. Welcome to DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness. And if you’ve ever started a new training program, gone a bit too hard with the weights, or gotten back into exercise after a long break, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
DOMS sucks. You’re sore, stiff, those muscles are fatigued, you have a reduced range of motion, maybe you feel weaker or tender to the touch, and sometimes there’s even swelling. It can range from mildly uncomfortable to so painful that people mistake it for an actual injury (though this is less common). And here’s the really frustrating part: DOMS can be a huge discouragement for people starting a new routine. You push yourself in that first workout, feel great, and then two days later, you can barely move. It’s easy to think, “This isn’t worth it” or “I must have done something wrong.”
But here’s the truth: DOMS is completely normal. And while we can’t prevent it entirely, we absolutely can treat it and make it more manageable.
What actually causes DOMS
Let me explain what’s happening in your body when you get DOMS, because understanding the biology actually helps you treat it better.
If you were to look at an illustration of your muscles, you’d see tubes. And inside those tubes are more tubes. And inside those? You guessed it, more tubes. (Your muscles are basically Russian nesting dolls made of protein filaments.)
When you up the ante in your movements, you get tiny microscopic tears in those muscle fibres. Your body, being as smart as it is, responds to heal those tears. But in the process of healing, those damaged fibres become inflamed. According to research, it’s this inflammation that causes the soreness you feel.
DOMS typically appears 8 to 24 hours after a workout, but it usually peaks around 24 to 72 hours post-exercise. So if you worked out Monday and feel fine Tuesday morning, don’t celebrate too early. Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning might hit you like a truck.
Why some workouts cause more DOMS than others
Not all exercise creates DOMS equally. The kind of movement that really triggers it is called eccentric exercise.
Eccentric movements are when your muscles are lengthening under tension. Think about the downward phase of a squat, lowering a weight during a bicep curl, or running downhill. In these movements, your muscles have to work to control the lengthening, which creates more of those microscopic tears than other types of exercise. This is why running downhill absolutely destroys your quads, even if you’re a regular runner. Your quadriceps and hamstrings are both working overtime for stabilization, lengthening under load with every step.
DOMS can also be exacerbated by a few other factors: dehydration (seriously, drink your water), genetics (everybody reacts differently to pain and inflammation), stress levels, and how deconditioned your muscles are for that specific movement.
The Bad News: you can’t actually prevent DOMS
I know, and I’m sorry. You want me to tell you there’s some magic trick to avoid DOMS entirely. But here’s the reality: we can’t stop it from happening completely. If you’re introducing a new stimulus to your muscles, whether that’s a new exercise, heavier weight, more volume, or just getting back into movement after time off, your muscles are going to respond with some level of soreness. That’s part of the adaptation process.
The good news? The more consistently you do a particular movement, the less DOMS you’ll experience from it. Your body adapts. Those muscle fibres get stronger and more resilient. The inflammation response becomes less dramatic.
But you can definitely treat DOMS and lessen how severe it feels. So here is what actually works.
How to Treat DOMS: what the research says
Hydration
Drink your water before, during, and after a workout. Staying hydrated keeps everything inside moving smoothly, which means your muscles won’t seize up and cramp from dehydration (which is painful on its own, but with DOMS? Absolutely brutal).
Proper hydration also supports the healing process by helping flush out metabolic waste products and delivering nutrients to your recovering muscles.
Rest (the most important)
Honestly, this is the most critical thing you can do. Sleep is when your body really gets to work healing you. During deep sleep, your body releases growth hormone, which helps repair those microscopic muscle tears and build them back stronger.
Sleep deprivation can make DOMS worse and delay recovery. Research has shown that insufficient sleep impairs muscle recovery and increases inflammation. So if you’re dealing with DOMS, prioritize getting that solid 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Gentle movement and stretching
Warm ups and cool downs are essential to any workout, and they can help reduce the severity of DOMS. But even after DOMS has set in, adding gentle movement and stretches can ease the discomfort.
A 2020 research review found that light activity and gentle stretching can help reduce the perception of pain from DOMS, even though it doesn’t speed up the actual healing process. The keyword here is gentle. Don’t go crazy. Go slow and listen to your body.
Think yoga, easy walking, or very light cycling. You want to keep blood flowing to those sore muscles without adding more damage. Skipping your stretching routine when you’re sore might feel like the right move, but gentle stretching actually helps more than complete stillness.
Heat Therapy
This is a personal favourite of mine. A hot shower or bath, a heating pad, or even just wearing a few extra layers helps keep your muscles warm and loose, which can ease pain.
When our muscles are cold, they contract to keep warm, which puts more pressure on those already painful spots. Heat increases blood flow to the area, bringing oxygen and nutrients that support healing. Research published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that sustained heat treatment significantly reduced DOMS symptoms.
Just make sure you’re using heat after the first 24 hours, not immediately post-workout. In that first day, ice might be more appropriate if there’s significant swelling.
Pain relievers (when needed)
I’m not a medical expert, so definitely talk to your doctor about this one first. But if the pain is really rough, you could take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Tylenol) to help ease the discomfort.
Important caveat: pain relievers help with the soreness, but they won’t bring back that short-term strength loss you’re experiencing. And some research suggests that taking anti-inflammatories too frequently might actually interfere with the muscle adaptation process. So use them sparingly, not as a regular post-workout routine.
Other treatments worth mentioning
There are lots of other ideas floating around for how to treat DOMS: Epsom salt baths, massage therapy, fascial stretch therapy, foam rolling, compression garments, fish oil, vitamin D, and even cryotherapy.
The research on these is mixed. Some studies show modest benefits, others show no significant effect. Pain and recovery are complex topics, and everybody responds differently to treatments. A 2018 systematic review found that sports massage may improve flexibility and reduce DOMS pain, so if you have access to massage therapy and it makes you feel better, go for it. Same with foam rolling. If it helps you, use it.
What not to do when you have DOMS
Here’s what’s important: don’t push yourself harder when these muscles hurt. Overtraining without adequate recovery will only worsen your DOMS and delay your healing. Skip the high-intensity cardio or heavy lifting sessions while you’re seriously sore. You’re not building strength when your muscles are still damaged and inflamed. You’re just creating more damage on top of existing damage.
And here’s a critical point: if your muscle soreness lasts more than 7 days, or if the pain is severe enough that you can’t move or use part of your body, see a medical professional. That’s not DOMS anymore. That could be rhabdomyolysis (a serious condition where muscle tissue breaks down rapidly) or an actual injury that needs medical attention.
DOMS doesn’t mean you got a good workout
Let me say this clearly: you don’t have to be sore to have an effective workout.
DOMS is just a sign that you introduced a new stimulus to your muscles. It doesn’t correlate with how much strength you’re building or how “good” your workout was. You can have incredibly effective training sessions that build strength and improve your fitness without being crippled by soreness afterward.
In fact, once your body adapts to a movement pattern, you’ll stop getting DOMS from it, even though you’re still getting stronger. That’s a good thing. That’s your body becoming more efficient.
Living with DOMS (because you will)
Look, if you’re training consistently and challenging your body, you’re going to experience DOMS sometimes. That’s part of the deal. But it doesn’t have to derail your entire week.
Treat it with rest, hydration, gentle movement, and heat. Be patient with your body while it heals. And remember that the more consistently you move, the less dramatic your DOMS will become.
And honestly? Sometimes a little soreness is a reminder that you showed up for yourself. You did something hard. Your body is adapting and getting stronger.
Just maybe take the stairs a little slower for the next couple days. And if you’re looking for guided gentle movement and recovery routines that you can do when you’re dealing with DOMS, The Garden has you covered. With accessible classes designed for all body types and fitness levels, you’ll find the gentle stretching and movement your sore muscles need.