5 Ways to Ease Sore Muscles
The day after a brutal workout, exercising more might be the last thing you want to do—but here’s why you should: Light activity can help ease soreness just as well as a massage, according to a new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. For the study, Danish researchers asked 20 women to perform shoulder exercises. Two days later, the women received a 10-minute massage on one shoulder and performed 10 minutes of exercise (a lighter intensity version of the original moves) on the other. Turns out, participants felt equal amounts of relief in both shoulders. While the study didn’t explore why exactly exercise can help ease muscle soreness, researchers believe that, since it increases circulation to muscles, physical activity may help speed up the body’s drainage of the metabolic waste and chemicals linked with muscle aches, says lead study author Lars Andersen, PhD, a professor at the National Research Center for the Working Environment in Copenhagen. ...