Muscle soreness comes with exercise, but you need to tell it apart from injury pain to avoid training while hurt and causing complications. So today we'll learn the difference and how to deal with each, because Fitness Garage takes care of every part of your training. Keep reading the next lines.
Difference between normal pain and injury
Normal pain with exercise is tiny tears in muscle fibers so they rebuild stronger. This happens from regular training. There's also muscle fatigue that may need more time to heal and rest, and maybe using ice.
Too much exercise, wrong training, or accidents can cause injury, with abnormal pain that's hard to handle. Then you should see a doctor.
Some questions that help you know the difference
First question: Look for signs of injury
There are some signs like redness or warmth in the injured area, or swelling. These are signs of severe muscle inflammation or a muscle tear. So if you feel pain, check the spot carefully.
Second question: Ask yourself what type of pain you're having?
If you can live with the pain and carry on your daily activities, it's probably just regular workout soreness. But injury pain can't be ignored. You should see a doctor.
Third question: Notice what you're feeling
Normal pain feels like you can't stand normally and have general soreness. This might come from a really intense workout recently.
Fourth question: The moment you feel the pain
Injury pain hits you right when it happens. You might hear a popping in your joints or muscles. Normal soreness shows up gradually the next day or a few hours after the workout.
Fifth question: Follow how long the symptoms last
Normal post-workout pain usually comes from lactic acid and potassium irritating your muscles. Your body clears it in about an hour, but it can take up to 3 days at most. If it lasts more than three days, that’s a warning sign of an injury. You should feel better within 3 days max.
You should rest before working out again and not push your body too hard. To avoid cramps, keep up regular stretching and warm-ups. Don’t lift more weight than you can handle or your level. Take care of rest days and your protein intake. You can join Fitness Garage trainers who are internationally certified and can help you with a workout plan to avoid injuries and design a suitable training system.
Tips to avoid pain after workout
Fitness Garage trainers offer you some tips to skip that soreness:
- Change your workout routine regularly: This will give you more flexibility and build muscles with better endurance.
- Don’t follow an old workout plan: Our bodies change to adapt to our age and the stages we go through, so you should know that pre-pregnancy workouts shouldn't be the same as post-pregnancy ones, and as you get older, your workouts need to change to match those changes.
- Wear suitable sports clothes: Exercise like running can cause injury because of the type of shoes you wear, plus the right shoes keep you comfortable during and after exercising.
- Avoid dehydration: Dehydration can make it harder for your body to recover after exercise.
- Don’t rely only on cardio exercises.
Exercise isn't meant to torture your body so it shouldn't always hurt, and if it does you should check your workout and how you do the exercises. We have many workouts explained in an easy way on our Facebook page, just click here.
