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I haven't worked out in a very long time, so yesterday morning I ran on the treadmill for about half an hour and today I have muscle pains from my lower back down to my ankles basically. Is there a way to get rid of these pains or better prevent them from occurring next time?
From what I gather, you are asking what you can do to heal/prevent muscle soreness? I want to kind of oit pick at some answers first just to clarify things.
Firstly, DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is NOT caused by build up of lactic acid. To be frank, there is very little scientific evidence to even identify how DOMS occurs in the body. Lactic acid in short cannot cause any soreness or atrophy because it is not made inside the muscle cells but actually in the surrounding region. For it to be made in the muscle, it would have to lose a proton, which it can't.
Secondly, do not stretch BEFORE exercise. Reason being is that stretching 'cold' increases the likelihood of tearing and joint injury. If you choose to stretch, do it after a warm-up or at the end of an exercise. Science proves that statement when they compared the strength and energy of pre-stretchers to post-stretchers and found the first group to be 5-10% weaker.
I think the word people were looking for was consistent, not continuous. Continuously working out everyday makes the body adapt by shrinking the size of the muscle to gain endurance. Consistently working out helps the body promote healthy metabolism and hormone levels (provided diet is on point).
To soothe soreness, you could try taking a hot bath, massaging the body part, or rubbing some topical lotion that relieves pain.
DOMS is not extreme, it can happen after any exercise, there's no science to even know how it works. LLA hypothesis (by Kemp) is an old hypothesis that science has proven to not work. For lactic acid to work, it has to lose a proton inside the muscle, but lactate isn't found there. Also lactate can be easily diminished by oxidation or breathing for a few minutes. By that logic, lactate shouldn't cause any soreness since there is no high amount anymore.
Main thing, stretch when you wake up in the morning, especially twist your ankles slowly, though don't get a charlie-horse XD Secondly, like everyone above stated; stretch before you work out and especially afterwards' specifically like a 'cool-down' mode after you work-out. You may feel a bit more better, though those muscles you work out, aren't used to an everyday routine, so the more you use them the less pain you'll get.
Your pains are from your muscles going into overdrive without sufficient amounts of oxygen. Your muscles produce latic acid as waste which then cause fatigue and soreness for a few days to prevent it what you do is sit in steam or dry heat or soak in a warm bath with salts. It helps your body remove the lactic acid faster. Also continuous working out will help because your body will get more adjusted to your training.
Hey there, I went to a work out boot camp & I lost about 15 pounds in 8 weeks. But I was never sore. Before we started our session, we would have to stretch before AND after. Then once your done your work out eating some protein stops your muscles from getting really sore. For example we ate apple wedges with peanut butter.
First off DOMS is a bit extreme for what she described. Lingering lactic acid would be a better hypothesis. All she did was run a treadmill. DOMS according to my fitness instructor happens more during strength training than during cardio.
Stretching helps with prevention as well as alleviation. Using a heat pad will relax your muscles as well. Truly, you will only stop becoming sore if you work out every day.
You need to always warm up, then stretch your muscles before a workout. You can even have a second stretch after the workout.
I know a way for relief, take a hot bath with epsom salts in the water
stretch
