Exercise is something that everyone should be incorporating in their lives on a regular basis. It helps with weight loss, keeps you fit, and makes you much healthier than if you were doing no exercise at all. When it is done right, it will even release ‘happy hormones’ such as serotonin into your body which make you feel great. However, if you have ever been sore after a workout or game, then you might wonder if it’s so good for you after all. The truth is that exercising is always a good thing, but sometimes it can cause pain, especially if you begin to use muscles that you don’t normally.
The pain can sometimes even come a day or two after the initial exercising, and this can come as quite a shock, and put many people off from doing anything again. It can even make general mobility difficult. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to combat this pain after a workout so that you can go about your daily life and get back to the gym, or out running, or anything else you like to do in no time.
An Ice Pack
An ice pack can be a wonderful and immediate form of relief for pain, especially if there is any swelling associated with the injury. Of course, not everyone will have an ice pack in their homes, but that is not a problem – you can make your own ice pack by wrapping ice (or something cold from the freezer such as a bag of peas) in a clean cloth and placing it onto the injured area. It is important to note that you shouldn’t even place the ice straight onto the skin; if you do this it could cause ‘ice burn’, and the pain will be much worse. When you are using an ice pack, you should only use it for 15 minutes every hour.
If there is no swelling, then an ice pack may not be the best solution, and heat might actually work better. Heat will increase the circulation around the injured area which not only helps it to hurt less but also starts the healing process more quickly.
A Massage
A massage is another useful way to reduce pain after exercising. In some cases, it does more than soothe the pain; it can eliminate it altogether, at least temporarily. A massage works on the muscles of the body, and it is these muscles that can be injured most easily when you are exercising. They can become tense and not move as they should which can cause problems. A massage is designed to loosen the muscles as well as removing the toxins that might have built up there before, during, or after the initial injury.
CBD Oil
CBD is the pain-relieving chemical found within hemp, and shouldn’t be confused for marijuana or any other drug. CBD oil has been shown to have a great effect on pain and is many people’s preferred method of pain relief in general, not just for injuries sustained after a workout. It is available from Highland Pharms; it is completely natural and one hundred percent legal too.
Stretching
Proper stretching during a warm-up routine can help to prevent injuries from occurring in the first instance, but stretching can also help after an injury is sustained because it can help the muscles and joints to move more freely again. It is best, however, to warm up to save yourself the pain of an injury. Warmups don’t have to take any more than 10 minutes or so and can consist of fairly gentle movements such as whirling your arms in a circle and marching on one spot. When you have properly warmed up your muscles, you will be far less likely to injure them during your workout.
If you choose to stretch out to relieve pain after your workout, then do be careful because you could cause more damage – be gentle and only move as far as you feel able to. Eventually, the affected area should feel freer and looser.
A Chiropractor
Although most of the injuries sustained during a workout will be muscle related, and the majority of pain felt will be due to this, there are other ways to hurt yourself when exercising, and the joints, ligaments, tendons, and even bones can all be damaged. Your spine is particularly vulnerable to pain, as a twist in the wrong direction, or a misstep here or there can cause it to hurt massively, and when you have a backache, it is hard to do anything in your normal day to day life.
A chiropractor manipulates your spine to put it back inline, aligned with the rest of your body. This will reduce (perhaps even completely eliminate) the pain and will also have a positive effect on your arms and legs too – they will feel a lot stronger.
Keep Exercising
As strange as it may seem, if you do more exercising when you are aching from the last gym session you had, it can help ease those aches and pains. If the pain is very bad, then you should, of course, rest, but if it is simply uncomfortable, then getting back out there and doing more exercise (even gentle exercise like swimming or walking) is a good thing.
You must not overdo it, though, or you could hurt even more afterward. The reason that additional exercise can help is that during your first session, you stretched your muscles. This made them stronger, and if you continue to use them in the same way, you can build up a tolerance. Therefore, you won’t ache so much – if at all – in the future.
Water
Water is one of the easiest ways to both prevent and reduce pain after a workout. If you are properly hydrated, then you won’t be so susceptible to muscle cramps or inflammation. Plus you will generally feel better because you are putting water back into your body after you initially sweated it out. Water is the ideal drink to choose because many others are actually dehydrating including coffee, tea, and sodas (which also contain high amounts of sugar or sugar replacement chemicals).
