What Causes Sore Muscles

If you’ve been working out regularly for any period of time, you’ve probably felt the pain of sore muscles. Flexibility and ease of movement in your various joints and muscles are limited by a variety of different factors. In the knee and elbow, the bony structure of the joint itself creates a limit. Soft tissue joints, like your ankle, your back and hip, have limitations caused by the interactions between muscle and connective tissue. There are several other factors responsible for sore muscles as well – here are a few:

Too much exercise

Are you a believer in the “no pain, no gain” approach to exercising? If so, then you’ve probably experienced sore muscles following a big workout.

"No pain, no gain” is a complete myth – don’t believe it! It’s possible to get all the benefit of exercise without hurting your self. In fact, pain is your body’s way of telling that something’s wrong, so pay attention when you feel sore. When you jump into a workout without properly warming up or push yourself too hard during exercise, you risk causing soreness or seriously injuring your muscles. If you find that you often feel sore after a workout, consider spending more time warming up or cut back on your workout intensity until you feel less pain.

Aging and inactivity

Connective tissue is what makes up ligaments and tendons – it’s the tough, stretchy substance that anchors muscle to bone and connects two bones together. It also covers muscles with a thin sheath called fasciae. As you age, these connective tissues lose some of their flexibility. Tendons especially, with their dense fibers are the most difficult to stretch out. Fasciae are the easiest. But if they are not stretched regularly, even fasciae can shorten and place excess pressure on nerves and muscles. Lots of aches and pains are the result of nerve impulses trying to travel along these decreased pathways.

If you don’t regularly move your joints and muscles through their full range of motion, it’s not uncommon to lose some of their movement potential. Joints become stiff without movement and muscles may become shortened. Using muscles that have been inactive for sometime can cause cramps and spasms that can be very painful. This is why it’s especially for older adults to stay active throughout their lives.

Splinting reflex

When a muscle is sore due to a cramp or an ache, the body may react by contracting the muscle and automatically immobilizing it. This is called the splinting reflex and its primary function is to protect the muscle from more serious injury. This reaction makes evolutionary sense, but it’s easy to see how a sore muscle can become a vicious pain cycle. To prevent this response from occurring, be sure to warm up and cool down properly and give tired, sore muscles a rest.

When exercising, it’s very important to know the capacity and limitations of your muscles to avoid causing injury. Warm up and cool down properly before every workout and give your muscles the rest they need to heal between hard workouts. By protecting your muscles from injury, you’ll miss fewer workouts and stick with your exercise program longer.

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