5 Ways to Relieve Sore Muscles
Sore muscles are often a sign of a quality workout. It comes as a price you are paying for getting your body in shape. And there is a simple biological reason why this is happening: your body is sending you a signal that you have reached your limits, and that now is the time for recovery.
Although you have to go through a period of time tolerating the pain, there are some ways that you can make it easier for yourself. You can check out some of these tips.
Stretch
It is recommended to stretch before and after every workout routine. This way you are lowering the possibility to get injured and you are adjusting your muscles for the recovery process. A workout routine causes an inflammation and soreness of the muscle tissue, and stretching facilitates the process of your recovery.
When you are stretching before an exercise, you are making your muscles and ligaments more flexible for a workout. When you are stretching after an exercise, you are making sure that you are reducing the tightness of your muscles. They become sore and tight during exercise and they need to restore their flexibility to reduce pain and avoid further injuries.
A hot bath
There are many benefits of taking a hot bath. It reduces stress, helps you relieve skin conditions, improves your blood circulation, reduces headaches, improves your sleep, and relieves sore muscles. Muscle soreness appears after a workout because lactic acid accumulates in the muscles. Hot water accelerates blood circulation which leads to the deporting of lactic acid and reduces pain.
Hot water relaxes your body and mind and makes a perfect ending to a workout routine. When you immerse yourself in a bathtub filled with hot water, it immediately relaxes your sore and tightened muscles and provides you with a feeling of ease.
Massage
Massage facilitates the process of recovery in a few ways. Tiny tears in muscle tissue appear during a workout which leads to inflammation. Massage reduces the production of cytokines that cause that inflammation. It also boosts mitochondria, cells’ power stations, to produce more energy to work and repair, which facilitates cell recovery.
If you want to treat your muscles well, provide them with a good massage. You can look for a good massage therapist, but to get more control of the process and the type of pressure you prefer, you can do the massage by yourself. There are many tools that can provide you with a quality sore muscle treatment, like muscle rollers, massage sticks, muscle relaxers, lacrosse balls, etc.
Hydrate
It is important to hydrate properly during any physically demanding activity. The body loses water during exercise, especially if one is working out very hard or in hot weather, and it is necessary to constantly compensate for the loss. Water accelerates your metabolism and deports toxins from your body, so it is important in reducing soreness of your muscles after an intensive workout.
Proper hydration prevents cramps and reduces muscle soreness, which makes it a reliable partner in your fight against pain. It is recommended to drink water and avoid soft and alcoholic beverages. If you are working out very intensively, you might take some sports beverages to replace sodium and electrolytes as they are essential for your body to work properly.
Ice
Putting ice on a painful muscle is a great way to treat an inflammation or an injury without the need to apply any drugs. It reduces swelling and pain because it slows circulation and blood flow. And except if you hold the ice too long and cause frostbite, there are no harmful side effects.
When the muscle is sore, it is harder to move it. When you apply ice to a painful spot, it reduces its inflammation. You are then more able to move, and movement helps heal the muscle, too. Don’t hold the ice longer than 20 minutes, and if you want to apply it longer, make at least a 10-minute pause between applications. And if you don’t have any ice, a bag of frozen vegetables or a cold beef steak will do the job.
If you want to start a new and healthy lifestyle, you have to make room for a workout in your everyday schedule. But you have to take care of your body. Listen to the signals it sends you and act accordingly. The “no pain no gain” philosophy is only partially true and will work for you only if you treat your muscles well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scarlet Gratton is a passionate writer and regular contributor at highstylife.com interested in fashion, lifestyle, and health. She loves traveling, you could say that she is a real travel addict, especially when she has a chance to visit some exotic destinations. She would tell you that inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places.
Image and Content Credits: Scarlet Gratton.
