Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is defined as ‘ultrastructural damage of muscle cells due to unfamiliar sporting activities or eccentric exercise, which leads to further protein degradation, apoptosis and local inflammatory response’ (Hotfiel et. al 2018) The micro tears caused by eccentric movements can impact performance by reducing joint range of motion and alter muscle recruitment patterns. This can increase risk of a soft tissue injury but treatment strategies for DOMS remain uncertain. Common treatment strategies include anti-inflammatories, massage and cryotherapy. Seidel et. al investigated the optimum treatment for DOMS and found non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs did reduce the pain but delayed the recovery. Other interventions were examined (nutritional and physical) and found that there was a reduction in inflammation but no treatment aided muscle regeneration. (Seidel et. al, 2012)
Massage can be an effective tool to aid recovery from DOMS, however most research states the type and timing of the massage is important. Hilbert et. al found that there was a reduction in muscle soreness 48 hours post exercise when massage is administered 2 hours after exercise, (Hilbert et. al, 2003). However, Visconti et. al found massage to be an effective tool to reduce DOMS during the onset of symptoms (Visconti et. al, 2015).
Cryotherapy has conflicting research on the effectiveness to alleviate DOMS. For example, Eston and Peters studied the use of cold-water immersion for recovery. They found 2-3 days post exercise, participants who used cold water immersion had increased joint range and reduced creatine kinase activity compared to the control group. However, both groups presented with muscle tenderness, swelling and reduced isometric strength 3 days following exercise. Howaston and Van Someren investigated the impact of ice massage therapy on DOMs, however discovered it is not an effective treatment due to only noticing creatine kinase reduction at 72 hours (Bishop et. al, 2008).
Evidence suggests adapting your exercise programme is the most efficient method to alleviate DOMS however the analgesic effect has been shown to be temporary (Zainuddin et. al, 2011). Cheung et. al suggests when exercising on a daily basis, one should reduce intensity and duration of exercise 1-2 days following DOMS. Training body parts that are less affected by DOMS and progressively overloading eccentric exercises over a 1 to 2 week period are efficient methods to manage DOMS (Cheung et. al 2003).
Reference List
Bishop, P.A., Jones, E. and Woods, A.K. (2008). Recovery From Training: A Brief Review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, [online] 22(3), pp.1015–1024. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e31816eb518.
Cheung, K., Hume, P.A. and Maxwell, L. (2012). Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Sports Medicine, [online] 33(2), pp.145–164. doi:https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200333020-00005.
Hilbert, J.E., Sforzo, G.A. and Swensen, T. (2003). The effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness. British Journal of Sports Medicine, [online] 37(1), pp.72–75. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.37.1.72.
Hotfiel, T., Freiwald, J., Hoppe, M., Lutter, C., Forst, R., Grim, C., Bloch, W., Hüttel, M. and Heiss, R. (2018). Advances in Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): Part I: Pathogenesis and Diagnostics. Sportverletzung · Sportschaden, 32(04), pp.243–250. doi:https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0753-1884.
Seidel, E., Rother, M., Hartmann, J., Rother, I., Schaaf, T., Winzer, M., Fischer, A. and Regenspurger, K. (2012). Eccentric Exercise and Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS) – an Overview. Physikalische Medizin, Rehabilitation Medizin, Kurortmedizin, 22(02), pp.57–63. doi:https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0032-1304576.
Visconti, L., Capra, G., Carta, G., Forni, C. and Janin, D. (2015). Effect of massage on DOMS in ultramarathon runners: A pilot study. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, [online] 19(3), pp.458–463. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2014.11.008.
Zainuddin, Z., Sacco, P., Newton, M. and Nosaka, K. (2006). Light concentric exercise has a temporarily analgesic effect on delayed-onset muscle soreness, but no effect on recovery from eccentric exercise. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 31(2), pp.126–134. doi:https://doi.org/10.1139/h05-010.
