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Updated: 26 February 2025 extended break. The best mini massage guns for on-the-go runners warm-up, you move to the squat rack, load up the bar and crack on. You might think that this doesn’t feel too bad. You complete your workout and head home with the afterglow of feeling fitter than you thought you were. That night, you dream of the PBs to come.

The next morning, you get ready to spring from your bed with your new-found strength – but your legs creak and your hamstrings feel like a collection of old rubber bands. Welcome to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Whether it’s from the gym or from running on the roads or trails, most runners will have experienced DOMS at some point. But what’s actually going on – and is it something to be concerned about?

DOMS is a term used to describe the stiffness and discomfort that you experience after completing exercise. It generally manifests between 24 and 72 hours after the offending session.

When we exercise, we create micro-trauma in our muscles. This might sound like something to avoid, but it’s actually a necessary part of training. Also known as myofibril tearing, this micro-level damage triggers your body to go into repair mode using its natural inflammatory response. With adequate recovery, this helps you to become stronger.

DOMS is likely to occur when you introduce something new to your training regime or push beyond your current training limits. If you’re a marathon runner, think back to your first one. Descending the stairs the day after the race was an enormous challenge. Why? Because you had run further and at a higher intensity on race day than you had in your months of training.

DOMS is more likely to develop and is particularly uncomfortable after a running session or race involving lots of fast downhill running. This is because running descents involves an increase in what is known as eccentric muscle contractions. Imagine yourself doing a chin-up. If your body is hanging from the bar, you squeeze the muscles in your arms, shoulders and back to pull your body up – this is known as a concentric contraction. In this type of contraction, a protein in your muscles called myosin binds to another protein called actin and drags it to shorten muscle fibres.

Now, imagine yourself starting at the top Your muscles are already contracted and your chin is at the bar. You then lower yourself slowly down to the hanging position – this is know as an eccentric contraction. For this movement, your actin and myosin proteins start to pull apart as a stretch takes place in the muscle.

The myosin heads, which are attached to actin, cling on for as long as they can and if the contraction is strong enough, they will break off. It is thought that this breaking of the myosin heads creates much of the micro-trauma and pain associated with DOMS.

You may have heard that DOMS is caused by an accumulation of lactate (or, the incorrect term, lactate acid) in our muscles. Not so. This is important because much of the marketing fluff surrounding products aimed at improving recovery often refers to the removal of waste products and lactate from the muscles. The truth is that eccentric contractions generally require less energy and are therefore associated with the production of less lactate. That aside, lactate will return to pre-exercise levels after 20 to 30 minutes anyway. So, make sure that you have your nonsense radar turned on when it comes to products or training methods that say they can reduce DOMS.

While the micro-damage linked to delayed onset muscle soreness is not the same as a traumatic muscle or tendon tear, it’s important to remain aware of chronic increases in aches and pains and respond to them accordingly. Here is what DOMS is not:

Pain during running

Pain during a running session is something that you need to respond to quickly. Stop running if you feel pain that is greater than two or three on a scale of one to 10. Seek professional advice if it doesn’t go away with rest and conservative treatment.

Sharp and highly localised pain

DOMS is quite recognisable as a generalised feeling of stiffness and soreness. A sudden or sharp onset of pain that may be highly localised and doesn’t ease with movement is something that needs to be checked out by a medical professional.

Chronic pain

Imagine going to the gym for the first time or after an gym work, a long run or a faster running session is to be expected. However, it’s not normal to feel this way after all your harder efforts. You might need to place more focus on recovery, Health & Injuries.

You’ve pushed a bit harder, tried a new session or race and DOMS has kicked in – so what do you do? There are various options that you can try to ease some of the soreness.

Recover actively

Just stopping might not be the best option. However, expecting to get out the door and run another fast or steady run while experiencing DOMS is not likely to end well. Consider doing some active recovery like a gentle walk, Advertisement - Continue Reading Below bike or a swim Support runners with the London Marathon app.

Rest if needed

If you’re very sore, rest. Ultimately, the effects of DOMS are short-lived. Focus on getting good nutrition and sleep. And don’t worry – you won’t lose fitness if you need to stop training for two or three days.

Ride it out

Are you faster than these celebrity marathoners ice baths to ibuprofen. I suggest that you steer clear of these options unless you have been advised otherwise by a medical professional. An inflammation cycle is important; it’s part of how you get stronger, so using aids intended to reduce this might actually have a negative impact on your body.

Consider therapeutic approaches

Numerous studies have found cryotherapy (exposure to extreme cold) and heat therapy to be equally beneficial methods for alleviating DOMS-associated pain, so consider taking this approach if advised by a medical professional. Although evidence on its effectiveness is often inconclusive, massage equipment including massage guns and foam rollers The best mini massage guns for on-the-go runners.