DOMS: Tips to Ease Post-Workout Pain

You crushed your workout. You’re feeling great until the next morning when your muscles feel stiff, sore, and a little rebellious. Welcome to DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

This is the tender, tight feeling that shows up 12–72 hours after trying a new workout, lifting heavier, or doing more reps than usual. While DOMS is a natural part of progress, it doesn’t have to leave you limping or skipping your next session. Here’s how to handle it smartly so you can keep training consistently without unnecessary discomfort.

What Is DOMS?

DOMS is a type of muscle soreness that occurs after an intense workout. It’s part of your body’s adaptation process and usually follows activities your muscles aren’t used to.

Why it happens:

• DOMS occurs due to microscopic muscle damage, particularly from eccentric contractions when the muscle lengthens under tension (for example, lowering into a squat or the downward motion of a bicep curl).
• This is a natural stage in muscle rebuilding and adaptation.

Treating DOMS: What Works

If you’re dealing with DOMS, don’t panic try these evidence-based recovery strategies:

• Get a Massage: Research shows massage therapy can significantly reduce soreness levels at 24, 48, and 72 hours after intense exercise.
• Take a Cold Bath: Ice baths help by constricting blood vessels, limiting muscle tears, and reducing inflammation. Studies suggest that 10–15 minutes of full body cold water immersion can lessen DOMS severity.

Tips to Prevent DOMS

The intensity and duration of your workouts are major factors in DOMS. You can reduce its impact by:

• Following a Proper Periodized Program: Gradually increase intensity and volume to give your body time to adapt and recover.
• Staying Hydrated: Drink plenty of water and electrolytes after your workout, especially in hot or humid conditions. Proper hydration helps flush out waste products and deliver nutrients to muscles.

Bonus Tip: Know the Difference

DOMS is normal soreness not an injury.
If the pain is sharp, localized, or lasts more than a few days without improvement, consult a professional it could be something else.

Recovery Is Training

Don’t fear soreness; it often means your body is adapting. But don’t chase soreness either. Your goal should be progress with sustainability.

When you treat recovery as an essential part of your program, you set yourself up for smarter, stronger, and injury-free performance.

Bottom line: A structured, periodized training plan will help you avoid injury, prevent overtraining, and make consistent gains in both fitness and performance.