What is muscle pain ?

Everyone suffers from muscle pain at some point. It often occurs in people who exercise, or who do not exercise and are too intense. For some, it is an indication that they have done their best during exercise. Muscle pain also quickly disappears by itself, usually you will notice relief within 24 hours.
But is that really healthy? And is it not harmful in the long term? We have listed the facts for you!

How does muscle pain develop?

The origin of muscle pain is always the question that arises the day after exercise. Especially for people who do not exercise often. How does muscle pain actually arise? Muscle pain is an accumulation of waste products in the muscles, especially lactic acid. This causes pain, stiffness and can also give a cramp feeling.

Muscle pain can have various causes.

The most common cause is taxation of muscles that are normally less or not at all loaded. This causes more waste products to collect in the muscles, causing you to feel pain, these are mainly lactic acids. In addition, small tears also occur in your muscle. You can also experience muscle pain when you are ill, such as with the flu. Here too, the cause is that the waste products collect in the muscles and you suffer from this. With both causes, the muscle pain also disappears by itself within a few days.
You can also get muscle pain from a bruise or tear in the muscle. This often occurs with muscle strain and it is always advisable to consult your GP or physiotherapist.

What is muscle pain after exercise?

Muscle pain can be divided into three different categories. Below we describe which ones they are and what causes them.

Acute muscle pain
Acute muscle pain is the pain you feel during sports or other physical exertion. This manifests itself in the form of acidification. Do you feel the acidification? Then it is important to take into account your body that indicates what the limit is. Do not continue for too long, because this can be harmful and even cause injuries.

Muscle pain due to bruising
This muscle pain can be caused by, for example, a wrong movement with muscle damage as a result. With this muscle pain it is important to give the muscle some rest and to strain it as little as possible.

Delayed muscle pain
Delayed muscle pain, as the name suggests, occurs later. This is the muscle pain you feel after a day of sports or an intensive walk. This muscle pain is caused by very small tears in the muscle, also called micro tears. Your muscle can develop these tears due to overload on the muscle. This form of muscle pain eventually goes away on its own, usually it takes a few days until you no longer feel it at all.

Is muscle pain always good for you?

'No pain, no gain' is often said by athletes. Which means no pain, no gain, assuming that muscle pain is good after exercise. The rule of thumb for doctors and physiotherapists is; a little muscle pain is fine, but if you have muscle pain for several days with minimal recovery? Then you have overdone it and this is actually harmful to the muscle.

Your body in super mode.

Muscle pain is caused by lactic acid that builds up in the muscle and the small tears.By stretching your muscles further than normal, small tears are created in the tissue. The recovery of these tears is painful, but this is also a signal for your body to strengthen those muscles. The saying “No pain, no gain” is therefore literal, by overstimulating your muscles you ensure that they increase in mass. In addition to the normal recovery of muscle tissue, your body will also overcompensate and therefore create more muscle mass. Your body wants to prevent having to repair your muscle tissue again soon, so it ensures that you have a little more muscle strength than before.

Don't forget the warm-up!

Do you often suffer from muscle pain? Then your muscle tissue is growing, but be careful with muscle pain for a longer period, because that is actually harmful to the muscles. To prevent harmful muscle pain, it is advisable to always warm up your muscles before you start exercising. The best way to do this is by special warm-up exercises to perform. This will reduce the chance of muscle damage and long-term muscle pain.
There are also different types of muscle gel that you can use before and after exercise. These gels help warm up your muscles and joints and keep them supple. So there are plenty of ways to protect yourself from injuries but still stimulate your body to create more muscle mass. Want to know more about what you can do about muscle pain? Then read this blog!