What are the differences between post exercise soreness and injury?

Anyone who insists on exercising encounters one thing: soreness. After each high-intensity training session, many people's first reaction the next day is: they have definitely mastered it this time! Muscles are definitely going to grow!

But there are also many people who feel uncomfortable after practicing, with body pain and even immobility, unable to distinguish whether it is normal training feedback or physical injury. The most heart wrenching thing is that the vast majority of beginners treat strain training as effective training, and they are getting more and more injured. There are also many people who mistake normal soreness for strains and stop training for nothing, afraid to persist.

To make progress in fitness and not waste your body, the core is not how hard you exercise, but to distinguish between soreness and injury. The essence of the two types of soreness is completely different. First, correct a big misconception: muscle soreness ≠ proper training. 90% of effective soreness in fitness is called delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS. Its principle is simple: through strength training and high-intensity shaping, muscle fibers will produce tiny benign tears, and the process of repairing these tiny damages in the body is the process of muscle growth, line tightening, and physical fitness improvement. This kind of soreness is a necessary process for the body to become stronger, belongs to benign pain, and is completely harmless. And another type of pain is acute sports injury. For example, strains, fascial tears, compensatory wear and tear of joints, and so on, are destructive injuries to muscles, joints, and soft tissues that exceed their tolerance range. Not only will they not improve the body, but repeated hard handling will only accumulate damage and eventually become stubborn old injuries. The most difficult point for ordinary people to distinguish is here: both types of pain occur. After exercise, the body feels uncomfortable, but one becomes stronger after recovery, and the other cannot be properly maintained and scrapped.

4 details to quickly distinguish between training in place and training injuries: The time when pain occurs is completely different. Effective training soreness is not immediately painful after training. After training on the same day, there is only a feeling of soreness, fever, and weakness. Pain begins 12-24 hours after training, with the strongest pain sensation occurring 24-48 hours later, and gradually subsides for hours on the third day. This is the normal rhythm of muscle repair and metabolic accumulation, which is 100% practiced. The pain that occurs immediately during the training process of sports injury training, the sharp pain that occurs when the force is applied, and the discomfort immediately after the training. The pain persists on the same day, but the next day, it not only does not relieve, but also becomes more and more painful. Any immediate pain is judged as injury, not training effectiveness. The physical sensation of pain varies greatly, with soreness and weakness being the overall discomfort of a large area of muscles. For example, after exercising the legs, the entire thigh is sore and swollen, and after exercising the back, the entire back becomes stiff. The characteristics are dull pain, diffuse pain, soreness and swelling when pressed, and relief when resting still. Pain during hand training: stabbing pain, intense pain at a fixed point, it is a precise pain at a fixed point, whether it is a muscle, joint, or connection. It hurts as soon as a point is touched or a force is applied. The characteristics are: sharp, localized, tearing sensation, and a slight pain even when lying down relaxed. The impact of movements is completely different for benign soreness: it does not cause pain when static, but causes slight soreness and swelling when exerting force. There is almost no sensation when walking, standing, or relaxing normally. Only when deliberately stretching and using this muscle can there be soreness and swelling, which does not affect normal life at all. Malignant injury: It hurts immediately, even statically, without the need for deliberate force. Daily activities and slight pulling can cause pain. In severe cases, sitting, lying down, and turning over can be uncomfortable, directly affecting normal activities. The recovery speed is completely different for benign soreness: it disappears automatically in 3-5 days without special treatment. Normal rest, stretching, and hot compress can fully recover in a few days, and the muscles become tighter and stronger after recovery. Malignant injury: If the pain persists for more than 5 days, minor strains may persist for at least a week, severe strain, and tears may last for half a month or even longer. If you do not rest and continue to practice hard, it will become a permanent old injury that will recur with a little exercise.

The three false pain traps that beginners are prone to confuse. Many people fail to practice and develop old injuries because they have fallen into these three misconceptions and treated injuries as progress. Joint pain is not the result of training. Muscles can become sore or swollen, but joints must not be painful. Knees, shoulders, waist, and wrists, whenever there is pain, it is 100% due to incorrect force application, severe compensation, excessive weight, not due to proper training, but due to joint wear. Muscles can repair and grow, but joint wear is irreversible. A single test of pain is likely to compensate for the injury. Normal training soreness is symmetrical, with even soreness and swelling in the legs, shoulders, and back. If there is always only one side of pain, one side of stiffness, and one side of stabbing pain, it is not because you are practicing well at the same time, but because of asymmetrical posture, compensatory force, and unilateral strain. If you don't care for it for a long time, it will become more and more crooked. Continuous fatigue and discomfort: Many people feel exhausted and continuously weak throughout their body, which is a sign of proper training. In fact, excessive fatigue and insufficient recovery belong to chronic training overdraft. Continuing to practice hard in this state will not make the muscles sound, but will only accumulate inflammation and overdraw the body.

The correct way to deal with two types of soreness: benign soreness: accelerated recovery, rapid progress. Mild stretching: Do not forcefully press or stretch your legs, gently relax your muscles. Hot compress and foot soaking: promote blood circulation and accelerate the elimination of metabolic waste. Adequate protein+sleep: Muscle growth relies entirely on rest, do not engage in high-intensity dead exercise every day. Low intensity activities: slow walking, relaxing activities, recover faster than sitting still.

Malignant damage: Immediately cut losses and eliminate hard work. Stop training immediately: Don't believe that just practicing with pain is enough, the more you practice, the more severe the injury will be. Cold compress for niche within 48 hours, hot compress for blood circulation after 48 hours. Completely avoid exerting force and focus on rest. Long term recurrent pain, timely examination, do not drag it into old wounds.

In the end, true fitness experts are only better at judging and recovering than anyone else. The fatal problem for beginners is blindly worshiping soreness, treating compensation, strain, and injury as training effects, and accumulating mistakes day after day, which is very dangerous.