What Is Post-Workout Soreness?

Post-workout soreness, commonly called delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS, is muscle soreness that develops after exercise, especially when the body is exposed to a new workout, higher training intensity, heavier weight, increased volume, running hills, sprinting, eccentric loading, or unfamiliar movements.

DOMS is different from the burning or fatigue felt during exercise. It usually develops gradually after the workout and is often felt most strongly within the first few days. Cleveland Clinic describes DOMS as muscle pain after intense exercise that typically begins one to three days after a workout, especially after a new or harder activity.

This soreness is part of the body’s adaptation process. During challenging training, especially eccentric movements where a muscle lengthens under tension, small amounts of muscle and connective tissue stress can occur. The body responds by repairing and adapting those tissues so they can better tolerate similar training in the future. Eccentric exercise is commonly associated with greater muscle micro-injury and DOMS compared with other types of muscle activity.

For athletes and workout enthusiasts, DOMS is common after strength training, running, CrossFit-style workouts, HIIT, plyometrics, sports training, cycling, heavy leg days, new exercise programs, or returning to training after time away.

Individuals May Experience

• Muscle soreness or tenderness

• Stiffness after exercise

• Reduced range of motion

• Discomfort when moving, stretching, squatting, reaching, or walking

• Fatigue in the affected muscles

• Tightness after weight training, running, or sport

• Soreness that appears the day after a workout

• Difficulty with stairs after leg training

• Shoulder, chest, or arm soreness after upper-body workouts

• Calf, quad, hamstring, or glute soreness after running or lower-body training

• Reduced performance during the next workout

• A feeling of heaviness or weakness in the trained muscles

• Soreness that improves gradually with light movement

DOMS is common, but severe pain, major swelling, dark urine, extreme weakness, or symptoms that feel very different from normal soreness should be medically assessed.

What Contributes to Post-Workout Soreness?

Several factors may influence post-workout soreness, including:

• New or increased training intensity

• Eccentric muscle loading, such as lowering weights or running downhill

• Heavy strength training

• High training volume

• Sprinting, jumping, plyometrics, or HIIT

• Lack of recovery between sessions

• Muscle fatigue

• Changes in training frequency

• Returning to exercise after time away

• Poor sleep or inadequate recovery

• Dehydration

• Inadequate protein or overall nutrition

• Low carbohydrate intake around intense training

• Electrolyte loss through sweating

• Training the same muscle groups too frequently

DOMS often occurs when training demand exceeds what the muscles are currently adapted to tolerate. This does not always mean injury. However, if soreness is excessive and recovery is poor, it can interfere with training quality, movement mechanics, and performance.

For athletes, runners, and gym-goers, managing soreness is important because training through excessive fatigue can increase compensation patterns. A sore lower body may affect running mechanics, squat form, jumping control, or sport performance. Sore shoulders or arms may alter lifting technique or overhead movement. Proper recovery helps the body adapt without repeatedly overloading the same tissues.

Why Recovery Matters for Athletes and Workout Enthusiasts

Recovery is when the body adapts to training. The workout provides the stimulus, but recovery is where repair, rebuilding, and performance improvements occur. Without enough recovery, the body may remain in a fatigued state, which can reduce strength, coordination, mobility, and training quality.

Recovery is especially important for:

• Strength training

• Running and endurance training

• Sports performance

• High-intensity interval training

• Competitive athletes

• Recreational athletes

• People increasing training volume

• Individuals returning after injury or time off

Poor recovery may contribute to persistent soreness, reduced performance, increased injury risk, poor sleep, irritability, and recurring tightness. ACSM notes that the body naturally repairs itself after exercise and that nutrition, hydration, and sleep can support that process.

The Role of Diet and Hydration

Massage therapy can support recovery, but recovery also depends heavily on what the body has available to repair tissue. Hydration, electrolytes, protein, carbohydrates, and overall nutrition all matter.

Important recovery factors may include:

• Drinking enough fluids before and after training

• Replacing fluids lost through sweat

• Supporting electrolyte balance, including sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium

• Eating enough protein to support muscle repair

• Eating enough carbohydrates to restore muscle glycogen after harder training

• Including nutrient-dense foods that support overall recovery

• Prioritizing sleep and rest between intense sessions

Hydration supports circulation, muscle function, and tissue recovery. Electrolytes are involved in muscle contraction and relaxation, which can matter for people who sweat heavily or train intensely. Nutrition research also continues to explore how different dietary strategies may influence DOMS and recovery, although results can vary depending on the person and training demands.

How Massage Therapy May Help

Massage therapy may help support recovery following exercise by reducing muscle tension, improving comfort, and promoting relaxation between training sessions. For athletes and active individuals, massage can be part of a recovery routine that helps the body feel less restricted and better prepared for future activity.

Massage therapy may include:

• Improving circulation to sore muscles

• Reducing muscle tension and stiffness

• Supporting recovery between workouts

• Promoting relaxation of fatigued tissues

• Enhancing overall comfort

• Addressing tightness in heavily trained muscle groups

• Reducing protective guarding after intense activity

• Supporting tissue mobility and flexibility

• Helping improve ease of movement after training

• Supporting nervous system relaxation after high-intensity exercise

A large review on post-exercise recovery methods found massage to be one of the recovery strategies with beneficial effects on delayed onset muscle soreness and perceived fatigue after exercise.

Massage therapy does not replace sleep, nutrition, hydration, or proper training progression. However, it may help reduce the intensity of soreness, support comfort, and improve recovery quality when combined with good training habits.

Massage Therapy for Different Types of Training

Post-workout soreness can show up differently depending on the activity.

For strength training, massage may focus on areas such as:

• Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves after leg training

• Chest, shoulders, and arms after upper-body workouts

• Back and hips after deadlifts, squats, or compound lifts

For runners and endurance athletes, massage may focus on:

• Calves

• Hamstrings

• Quads

• Glutes

• Hip flexors

• Feet and lower legs

For sport athletes, massage may support:

• Recovery between practices and games

• Reduction of tightness after repeated sprinting or cutting

• Comfort after contact, jumping, or high-volume training

• Soft tissue recovery during heavy training blocks

The goal is to help reduce unnecessary muscular tension and support better movement quality between sessions.

Book an Assessment

If post-workout soreness is affecting your training, recovery, mobility, or performance, massage therapy may help support your recovery process.

A massage therapy assessment can help identify whether your soreness may be related to training volume, muscle tension, poor recovery, dehydration, nutrition habits, repetitive strain, or soft tissue restriction.