Good Question: Why Do Our Muscles Get Sore?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Whether it's because you just ran a marathon or you've picked up the weights after a few months away from the gym, you know that feeling the next day. You can barely lift your arms or it hurts just to walk.
So, why do our muscles get sore? Good Question.
"It used to be that there was this belief that lactaid or lactic acid caused soreness," Paul Mellick, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of St. Thomas, said.
But, Mellick says the most recent research now shows lactic acid peaks right after exercise, so researchers have turned to another explanation for the soreness that comes a day or two later.
"What happens when you exercise if you get microscopic tears that take place at the level of the cell itself," he said. "You actually damage those structural protein so they muscle can rebuild itself and gets bigger, faster, strong, whatever you want it to be after you're doing exercising."
The pain comes from the tears, so the body responds as if it's been injured.
"There's an inflammatory process and there are a few other processes taking place within the cell," Mellick said.
Often, the pain is most intense the day or two after high-intensity exercise and can last for several days after that. As for why the response takes more than 24 hours.
"The short answer is it just takes that long for the process to go that route," Mellick said.
There are many theories on ways to reduce the pain, including specific foods, stretching or foam rolling muscles, but Mellick says the best prescription is time.
"There's not a lot you can do," he said. :You've kind of got to wait the 24 hours, go for a walk, icing could help, too."
