This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Acute muscle soreness is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Acute muscle soreness (AMS) is a term to describe muscle soreness felt during the muscle's use in an activity or shortly after its use (generally no longer than an hour). It is not connected to its longer counterpart, Delayed onset muscle soreness, which can last up to 72 hours after muscle activity.
Contents |
Definition
It is generally known to be caused by tears in the muscle fibers or fasica. Soreness can occur after trying a new muscle activity or exercise, exercising during or after a prolonged period of being sedentary (little or no exercise or movement) or a large change in your current exercise routine.
Recovery
AMS, in general, disappears quickly (hence the term acute). To speed the recovery period, one should stop the exercise or movement causing it. However, the soreness can last even after the muscle/s cease activity and can remain for up to an hour. There are ways to quicken the recovery period and relieve the patient of the pain. This is achieved by the removal of all the ATP-derived hydrogen ions and so techniques to speed up the removal of these ions will shorten recovery time.
These techniques include:
- Light aerobic exercise
- Stretching
- Massaging the affected area's or muscles.
Other theories
A new theory has emerged as to the cause of AMS which states:
- AMS is caused by ATP-derived hydrogen ions in the muscles.
- This deprivation leads to a drop in pH and increase of acidosis levels within the muscles.
- This decrease of pH levels within the muscles is what causes the soreness which is perceived by the patient.
Though AMS is now believed to be caused by ATP-derived hydrogen ions, they may not be solely responsible. For instance, if other substances can drop the pH and increase acidosis in the muscles, then theoretically they can also contribute to AMS.
References
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 9 February 2008, at 11:44.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Acute muscle soreness".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.