8 Ways to Alleviate Muscle Soreness After Running

Remember that expression, “No pain, no gain” from the 80s?  Jane Fonda gets official credit for that one.  Thankfully, the idea that your workout should hurt or leave you very sore has fallen out of fashion. In fact, when it comes to running, if you are excessively sore 24 hours after a workout, it’s probably because you pushed too hard or increased your mileage too fast.

That being said, its normal to have a little soreness after your long run, but I’m talking about the “OMG I can’t walk down the stairs” soreness that follows a too aggressive mileage increase (or frequently, running a marathon).

The experts call this condition delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and small ruptures or tears in the muscles are what causes it. With DOMS you may experience a decreased range of motion and even some swelling. Luckily, muscle adapts quickly to this kind of damage, actually protecting and preventing further damage when exercise of the same intensity is repeated, However, the best protection for us runners is to avoid the situation in the first place and obey the 10% rule when increasing mileage or by adding cross-training to your workout schedule after an easy run day.

OK, so that being said, what do you do when you have overdone it? Not all treatments work for all people, so you’ll have to do a little experimenting to find what’s works best for you.

1.     Wait until the severe soreness subsides (usually 24-48 hours before running again). Okay, I don’t like that one either. ;-)

2.     Soak in a warm bath. You can do an Epsom salt bath and soak until you prune. For those of use lucky to have a good spa, turn those jets on and soak baby!

3.     Sit in a bath of ice water for 5 minutes – or take a very cold shower. Many of you have probably employed this method after a marathon. It sounds scary, but you’ll feel great afterwards and this really helps to alleviate soreness by reducing inflammation without inhibiting tissue repair.

4.     Increase blood flow to the muscles by doing some low-impact aerobic exercise like the ellipse machine or fast walking.

5.     Practice self-massage at least three times a week. Use your thumbs to knead muscles from top to bottom – always moving away from your heart. Alternatively, you can use The Stick. This kind of muscle massage breaks up muscular adhesions, can reduce the soreness, and encourages healing.

6.     If the pain is especially bad, try using an OTC anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or even an anti-inflammatory sports crème like Flex Power or TheraFlex.

7.     Consume protein immediately after your workouts and plenty of carbs. This is a great time to consume a high-quality, carbohydrate-protein sports drink for post workout hydration and mitigation of soreness.

8.     Maintain a diet that’s high in anti-oxidents. Citrus fruits, melons, berries, vegetable oils, nuts and dark greem leafies are good choices. You can also try an anti-oxidant supplement like Oxi-7.

Notice I didn’t mention stretching here. There is more and more evidence mounting that stretching before or after your workout does not prevent muscle soreness (or injury). However, if you are going to stretch when you’re really sore, do so very GENTLY so as not to cause additional tissue damage.

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