New Insights Into DOMs
Researchers are learning when and how DOMS could be reduced.
Delayed onset muscle soreness (“DOMS”) results from eccentric exercise that involve a muscle lengthening while it is being contracted. Noteworthy research shows that eccentric exercise training increases muscle strength and size when compared with concentric training, but with increased risk of muscle soreness. The current explanation for the cause of this soreness is microdamage to muscle fibers and subsequent inflammation.
Japanese researchers from Nagoya University and Niigata University in Japan, reviewed studies on DOMS caused by eccentric contractions, noting instances when DOMS could be reduced. Study authors recommend using either a weaker eccentric contraction or isometric contraction, to avoid or reduce DOMS. With these methods, eccentric training “can be used by the elderly to strengthen muscles to prevent falls or flails.”
Researchers noted that DOMS is naturally mitigated through a “repeated bout effect”, which results when eccentric exercise is repeated within several weeks, when compared with the initial bout. More research is recommended to understand the mechanisms for why this occurs.
Study findings are reported in the The Journal of Physiological Sciences (2024; doi: 10.1186/s12576-023-00896-y).
See also: R.I.C.E. Versus M.E.A.T.: What Method Is Best for Acute Inflammation?
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
