Muscle Sore: What Causes it?

I have been doing cross fit for almost 3 months now and every now and then I get muscle sores. Yesterday after noon I went to the gym. I was doing the usual warm up and stretching exercise but we always have different work outs daily. We call that WOD (workout of the day). I went to the white board and saw our workout of the day.

METCON:
12 minutes duration and every minute we have to do:
7-10 deadlifts
7-10 wallballs

Since I was new to cross fit the coach asked me to do just 5 dead lifts (75lbs) and 5 wall balls (10lbs) every minute. The first 3 minutes were easy. As every minute passes by I get to feel my back aching. So, I took a rest on the 8th minute and the 10th minute of the exercise. After the 12 minutes exercise I was sweating so much and I was breathing heavily. It was one great exercise.

3 hours after the exercise I was home working in front of my computer I noticed that by back started to ache. I just didn't mind it until I can no longer ignore the pain. I think I pushed myself too hard which cause the pain on my back. I don't usually lift more than 55lbs since I am new but because of the holidays and the unstoppable eating sessions I decided to push harder.

Why do muscles feel sore after rigid exercising?

This is known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. One can get sore muscles after physical activity and this maybe cause by change your exercise routine, increase the duration or intensity of your regular workout, or it can occur when you start a new exercise regimen. Microscopic damage to the muscle fibers happens when the muscles are required to work harder than the normal routine. Thus, this results to soreness or stiffness of the muscle.
When muscles are required to work harder than they're used to, or in a different way, it is believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres, resulting in muscle soreness or stiffness. It used to be thought that DOMS is cuase by lactic acid build up, however, lactic acid is not involved in this process.

Who can get muscle pains?

Anyone can get muscle pains even those who have been excersing on a regular basis. Hardcore athletes can get DOMS, too. Muscle pain is just temporary and is part of the process of gaining more strength and better stamina. The soreness and pain will decrease as the muscles get used to the demands of physical activities.

What type of activities can cause DOMS?

Any movement you're not used to can cause DOMS, in particular, movements that cause the muscle to contract while it lengthens (called eccentric muscle contractions). Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include going down stairs, jogging or running downhill, lowering weights (such as the lowering phase of a bicep curl) and the downward motion of squats and push-ups.

Does it last long?

DOMS typically lasts between three and five days. The pain, which can range from mild to severe, usually occurs one or two days after the exercise. This sort of muscle pain should not be confused with any kind of pain you might experience during exercise, such as the acute, sudden and sharp pain of an injury, such as muscle strains or sprains.

How to treat DOMS?

There are many ways to treat DOMS. Treatments are a variation of massage, ice packs, anti-inflammatory drugs, tender-point acupressure, and rest may help ease the pain. A combination of these will help one who is suffering from DOMS. This soesn't require medical intervention however if the pain becomes unbearable, one notices the urine becomes dark or there is swelling one has to seek medical advice.

How can I prevent DOMS?

One has to start new activity gradually and gently. This will allow muscles time to adapt and thus minimizes the pain or soreness. Warm ups and stretching have little to no evidence in preventing DOMS but they have benefits to the recipient. Warm-up muscles will help in improving once performance and reduce the chance of injury while stretching is for flexibility and reduction of exercise cause injuries.

Can I continue exercising with DOMS?

Of course one can continue exercising even with the soreness but if the pain makes it hard to exercise then one can refrain from doing so for a few days. But if you want to exercise then focus on areas that are not sore.

I am in sore and in pain today but I know that I will get better each day and every time I get DOMS.

Credits:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931
http://www.healthline.com/symptom/muscle-pain
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/art-sore-muscles-joint-pain
https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/doms-the-good-the-bad-and-what-it-really-means-to-your-training