Soreness is tricky. It can be a good indicator that you pushed and challenged yourself or it can mean that overdid it. The good thing is that the treatment for it is universal.
Runners usually experience DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, a day or two after a big run or race. The best way to prevent it is:
- Always do a proper warm-up before your run. After that warm up, do a few easy stretches, like hamstring, quad, groin and calf stretches.
- Consistent yoga practice is a good way to ensure that muscles stay loose all year round.
- Gradually build up your mileage, don’t think you can jump right in where you left off this summer. Too much too soon is a recipe for muscle soreness.
That brings me to giving you tips to treat muscle soreness, if for some reason you don’t adhere to the above advice.
- Ice baths work wonders! Fill a bathtub, to waist level, with cold water and lots of ice cubes thrown in. Immerse your body in it for 10-15 mins, don’t worry the shock of it goes away after 2 minutes. I did this in college when we had two-day track meets; it’s the best recovery for rejuvenating the muscles but also preventing soreness the next day. **If you can’t stand the ice bath, use ice packs on the sore areas.
- A sports massage helps circulate the blood back to the muscles.
- Consistent yoga practice is, again, a good way to ensure that muscles stay loose all year round.
