Stiffness is often the result of muscle soreness. It’s often described as an achy, tender sensation in the muscle and surrounding area. This stiffness (also known as delayed-onset-muscle-soreness (DOMS for short)) may set in anywhere between a few hours and a few days after the activity.
What is Muscle Stiffness?
DOMS is muscle fatigue after a period of time after intense use of your muscles. Whilst in intense tension, your muscles cause microscopic tears in your muscle fibres. Your body responds to this by increasing inflammation and muscle soreness in order to start the recovery process. Muscle stiffness typically occurs 12 – 24 hours after the activity and may last up to three days depending on how sore you are (1).
Symptoms include:
- Muscles tender at the touch
- Reduced range of motion due to stiffness
- Minor swelling of the affected muscle
- Fatigue of the affected muscle
- Short term strength loss of the muscle
Common Causes of Stiffness
Exercise
It’s not a secret that we know the benefits of exercise, including increased bone density, healthier ageing and positive mental health. When we move our muscles in new ways (or use muscles we haven’t used in a while), it may result in the microscopic tears discussed and possible muscular strains, resulting in stiff, tight and aching muscles.
Injuries
Soft tissue injuries are common in the muscles, tendons and/or ligaments and often endured during overuse, strains and exercise.
Acute injuries can be caused by a fall, twist or sudden blow to the body. The most common example of acute injuries are strains and sprains.
Overuse injuries is what it says on the tin. These are injuries caused by continuous overuse of muscles, tendons and/or ligaments with little or no rest between uses.
Some injuries can carry other symptoms in addition to feeling stiff. These include:
- Cramping
- Aches
- Pain
- Swelling
- Weakness
Who can Experience Muscle Soreness?
Anyone! No matter your fitness level, soreness can strike when you increase your activity intensity, new movement patterns or engaging muscles you haven’t used in a while.
Prevention Tips
Although it’s not always possible to prevent stiffness and tightness, but here are a few steps our therapists do to help:
- Drink your water – keeping hydrated helps protect your joints and muscles by keeping the cartilage soft and pliable
- Warm up – taking time to intentionally warm up helps build heat in your muscles so you’re less likely to strain and pull your muscles too far
- Proper Technique – ensure you have correct form when performing exercises to prevent any unwanted slips, falls or breakages
- Stretching – this helps your muscles adapt to a lengthened or engaged stage, meaning you’re less likely to strain a muscle if you fall or slip into wonky positions
Practical Tips
Now you know how to prevent it from happening again, what do you do right now? Here are a few of our suggestions:
- Rest – it’s crucial you let your soreness recover before continuing with any activity again.
- Gentle stretching – lightly stretching the muscle may help speed up the recovery process as it encourages blood flow in and out of the muscle.
- Massage – massaging the stiffness also has the same effect as stretching.
- Heat – warm heat can reduce symptoms temporarily.
- Ice – use cold packs to lower inflammation.
Your stiffness should go away on its own over the course of several days. If the ache turns into sharp pains or prolongs, seek advice from a professional.
Get in touch with us:
📲 01480775912
⌨️ info@mooreperformance.uk
References:
- American College of Sports Medicine, (2011). Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). [online] Available at: https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/files-for-resource-library/delayed-onset-muscle-soreness-(doms).pdf?sfvrsn=8f430e18_2.