8 Ways to Treat Sore Muscles

We all secretly love sore muscles. It's proof you put in serious work at the gym, and your body is feeling it. But some muscle soreness isn't simply due to lactic acid buildup — it's a sign you straight-up sent your muscles into shock.

"The significant muscle soreness that typically occurs hours after activity, usually 24 to 48 hours after activity, is referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness. or DOMS," Christopher Hogrefe, MD, FACEP, sports medicine and emergency medicine specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, told MensHealth.com. "This condition has little, if anything, to do with lactic acidosis. Instead, it appears to be the result of small tears in muscle fiber that combine with an inflammatory process to result in pain."

Ouch.

You'll notice this type of soreness after more challenging or unfamiliar exercise. "Activities that involve muscle and tendon lengthening while a person simultaneously tries to contract the muscle, Squats and running downhill, are examples of such exercises," says Hogrefe.

So what are the symptoms of DOMS? "Muscle soreness, lack of strength, decrease in the speed of muscle contractibility, and muscle stiffness are all symptoms of DOMS," says says Katie Lawton, an exercise physiologist in Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. "DOMS can decrease the speed of muscle contractibility by 5-8% and change joint mobility."

If your body needs a little more help with recovery, try one of these tips to get rid of sore muscles.