Muscle pain or lactic acid? LET'S DEBIT A MYTH!

Even today many people believe that the muscle pain felt in the days following physical activity is caused by an accumulation of lactic acid, however this is not the case and that of lactic acid is just a false myth that is still quite widespread!

In fact it is actually DOMS, an acronym from the English Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness , or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This disorder is very frequent among those who usually do not carry out physical activity and start practicing sports but also among athletes who perform a new type of training and can manifest itself after any kind of physical effort.

Why isn't it lactic acid?

From a physiological point of view we know that lactic acid is produced by the muscle during intense and rapid effort, in the acceleration of a physical exercise for example. The lactic acid produced can be used by the muscle fibers themselves or pass first into the capillaries and then into the gradually larger vessels which transport it to the liver where it is metabolised quite rapidly; already a couple of hours after the end of the exercise its blood concentrations return to normal.

So why do we perceive pain?

Today we know that these pains are independent of lactic acid and the main mechanism believed to be responsible for the appearance of symptoms is currently structural damage to muscle cells due to unfamiliar or very intense sporting activities. This structural damage to the muscle fibers in turn leads to further protein degradation, apoptosis and local inflammatory response which together are responsible for the perceived pain.

In practice, following an intense effort to which our muscles are not accustomed, micro-lesions form in the muscles which cause pain. The development of clinical symptoms is typically delayed and in fact pain appears approximately 24-48 hours after exercise, as a result of complex sequences of local and systemic physiological responses, and then resolves within a few days depending on the duration and duration. intensity of the effort performed.

We said before that lactic acid is eliminated 2 hours after the end of the exercise and that instead, muscle pain arises at least 24 hours after training: this represents further confirmation that the pain cannot be due to an accumulation of lactic acid.

Therefore DOMS are micro tears in muscle tissue due to the excess stress to which the muscle is subjected during physical activity; these lacerations trigger an inflammatory response which results in the sensation of pain, but…

After muscular effort, it is precisely these small micro-traumas that allow the body to adapt to the exercise, improving its functional capabilities! In fact, the damaged cells heal and the damaged tissue is rebuilt, furthermore we simultaneously witness a process of reorganization and functional adaptation which leads to an increase in muscle resistance and therefore consequently to an improvement in muscle performance.

To conclude, here are some suggestions to limit the onset of DOMS after physical activity:

• Before starting the actual training, do a good warm-up to prepare your muscles for training and promote greater muscle elasticity.
• Carry out a well-structured workout by a professional and set gradually in relation to your abilities and your training level.
• Finish your workout with a good cool-down session to prepare the muscle for rest and aid the recovery process.
• Allow your body and muscles to recover adequately by leaving sufficient time between one workout and the next.

Bibliography

• Hotfield T, Freiwald J, Hoppe MW, et al. Advances in Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): Part I: Pathogenesis and Diagnosis. Sportverletz Sportschaden . 2018; Available at https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0753-1884