Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is muscle pain and tenderness that develops within 24-48 hours after unaccustomed or strenuous physical activity. It occurs due to microscopic tears in the muscle fibers caused by actions like eccentric exercise (lengthening of muscles under tension). The pain peaks between 2-3 days later as the muscles undergo inflammation and repair. DOMS can be prevented by gradually increasing exercise intensity and volume, as well as gentle stretching before and after exercise. Foam rolling has also been shown to reduce DOMS and help recovery by increasing blood flow to damaged muscles.

1. DELAYED ONSET
MUSCLE
SORENESS
PRATIGYA DEUJA

2.  A particular type of muscle soreness that develops 24-48
hours after unaccustomed physical activity.
 It appears to be more severe after eccentric exercise
(involving muscle contraction while muscle is lengthening),
such as downhill running.
 It is noticeable in the muscle belly or at the musculotendinous
junction due to muscular overexertion.

3. 1) Lactic acid
2) Muscle spasm
3) Torn tissue
4) Connective tissue
5) Enzyme efflux
6) Tissue fluid theories

4.  Minute tears in muscle tissue or damage to it’s
contractile components with accompanying release of
creatine kinase, myoglobin, and troponin 1.
 Osmotic pressure changes that cause fluid retention in
the surrounding tissues.
 Muscle spasms.
 Overstretching and perhaps tearing of portions of the
muscle’s connective tissue harness.
 Acute inflammation.
 Alternation in the cells mechanism for calcium
regulation.
 Combination of the above factors.

5.  Unaccustomed exercise using eccentric muscle actions
(downhill running, slowly lowering weights) trigger post-
exercise discomfort.
 High muscle forces damage sarcolemma causing release of
cytosolic enzymes and myoglobin.
 Damage to muscle contractile, myofibrils and non-
contractile structures.

6.  Altered Sarcoplasmic Reticulum:
The four factors produce major alterations in
sarcoplasmic reticulum structure and function with
unaccustomed exercise.
1. Changes in pH
2. Changes in intramuscular high energy
phosphates
3. Changes in ionic balance
4. Changes in temperature

7.  Metabolites (e.g, calcium) accumulate to abnormal
levels in the muscle cell to produce more cell
damage and reduced force capacity.
 Delayed onset muscle soreness, considered to result
from inflammation, tenderness, pain.
 The inflammation process begins; the muscle cell
heals; the adaptive process makes the muscle more
resistant to damage from subsequent exercise.

8.  Muscle soreness and aching beginning 12 to 24
hours after exercise, peaking 48 to 72 hours, and
subsiding 2 to 3 days.
 Tenderness with palpation throughout the involved
muscle belly or at the myotendinous junction.
 Increased soreness with passive lengthening or
active contraction of the involved muscle.
 Muscle stiffness reflected by spontaneous muscle
shortening before the onset of pain.

9.  Local edema and warmth.
 Decreased ROM during the time course of muscle
soreness.
 Decreased muscle strength prior to onset of muscle
soreness that persists for up to 1 to 2 weeks after
soreness has remitted.

10.  DOMS can be prevented or at least kept to
minimum by progressing the intensity and volume of
exercise gradually by performing low intensity warm
up and cool down activities.
 Gently stretching the exercised muscles before and
after strenuous exercise.
 Post event massage.
 Non weight bearing exercises.
 Hydrotherapy.
 Spa baths
 Vibration therapy

11.  Compression garments
 Nutritional supplements
 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

12.  ARTICLE : Foam rolling for delayed onset muscle
soreness and recovery of dynamic performance
measures.
Gregory et al. in their study performed a controlled
laboratory study where they took total 8 healthy,
physically active males. Participants performed 2
conditions, separated by 4 weeks, involving 10 sets of
10 repetitions of back squats at 60% of their 1
repetition maximum, followed by either no foam
rolling or 20 minutes of foam rolling immediately, 24
and 48 hours post-exercise. The outcome measures
were Pressure pain threshold, sprint, power, dynamic
strength endurance. The study have concluded that
Foam rolling effectively reduces DOMS and associated
decrements in most dynamic performance measures.

13.  THERAPEUTIC EXERCISE–---CAROLYN KISNER sixth
edition
 ESSENTIALS OF EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY----- KATCH
AND KATCH fourth edition
 JOURNAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING 50(1), 5-
13,2015