Sore muscles - causes, solution & prevention

After your workout, do you feel pain the next day in the muscles you trained the day before? Many people think that it's "sensible" to have sore muscles - after all, that's how you realise that you've done something for your body. But is it even healthy to have sore muscles? We explain how sore muscles develop, how you can prevent them and what helps if they are already sore.

Sore muscles are caused in two different ways. Either you are training a certain area of your body for the first time and it first has to get used to this unfamiliar movement. Or you have simply overdone your workout. However, training too hard is anything but effective. You overload your muscles - resulting in sore muscles.

Basically, muscle soreness describes minimal tears in your muscle fibres. They are therefore injuries that have occurred because your body cannot withstand the extreme strain. As a result, water gets into these fibres and your previously trained muscles swell.

The water creates pressure. This causes the pain we are familiar with from sore muscles. These tears are not bad or harmful at first. However, they show that your muscles have been subjected to overuse. Sore muscles are therefore not associated with more effective training. Quite the opposite. Sore muscles make you less effective at building muscle.

The pain subsides after a few days and the tears heal again. However, you can prevent the pain or counteract it if the sore muscles have already developed.

There are a few things you can do to prevent sore muscles in the first place. This makes it easier for your body to adapt to training, you get used to the strain and injuries are prevented.

If you are starting out with a sport or trying out a new workout, you should start training slowly. The body needs a few exercise sessions to get used to the movements. The same applies after a longer break. Increase slowly and increase the intensity of your training at a leisurely pace.

As your body needs a certain amount of time to withstand the effort of a workout, it is important to be consistent. This means that you shouldn't constantly interrupt your training and train on a whim. It is important to maintain a determined rhythm. This will keep your muscles used to the workout and you won't have to deal with sore muscles as quickly. This way, your muscles are not overstrained as they are less likely to be overloaded** when trained.

However, after a strenuous workout, make sure to observe the recovery time. During this phase, your body rest and prepares for another workout. If you do experience muscle soreness, it is particularly important to take breaks. The tears in the muscles still haven't healed, so it's better to wait another day. Otherwise you could end up with muscle fibre tears, for example. Of course, you should also take a break if you have a cold and your immune system is weakened as a result.

If your muscles are sore, you can counteract it with a few tricks and relieve your body of the pain, or at least alleviate it. Try not to focus on the pain and, ideally, distract yourself.

Heat, such as in a sauna or a hot bath, stimulates the circulation in your muscles. This effect relieves the pain caused by sore muscles. A hot water bottle or cherry stone cushion also radiate heat at certain points and thus relax your muscles.

To get your body back on the right track, try using a fascia roller to regenerate your muscles. You can use it to treat the inflammation in your muscles very precisely, allowing them to recover more quickly from your workout. You can also use a fascia roller as a preventative measure. Use it to massage your strained muscles directly after training. By promoting blood circulation, you reduce or prevent pain and injuries.

We also recommend taking a short walk, for example. The short and gentle movement stimulates your blood circulation and speeds up the recovery of your muscles.

Similar to heat, ginger increases blood circulation, allowing your muscles to recover and relax more quickly. Ginger also contains pungent substances known as gingerol. These have a similar effect to aspirin and relieve pain, as ginger is anti-inflammatory. A hot ginger tea to relax sounds very good. You can also take ginger as a precautionary measure.

Conclusion: Sore muscles are not a sign of particularly intensive and effective training. Overexertion leads to tears in your muscle fibres. Therefore, always prepare for your workout in advance and don't overdo it. Allow your body to get used to your training slowly and build up over time. Also, don't forget to take breaks and recover from a strenuous workout.