Quick relief for sore muscles

It happens to everyone. You go for a hike, hit the gym after a long break, or just have a harder workout than usual. Everything seems fine until the next day you wake up so stiff and sore you can hardly move. Delayed onset muscle muscle soreness, or DOMS is a fairly common annoyance if you work out. Here's what you can do to soothe sore muscles so you can get back in the game.

Stay Hydrated

Keeping up on your water intake isn't just to balance out your sweat. When you give your body enough water to function properly, it can also flush out the lactic acid making your body sore. That means less soreness to begin with. It will also help give your body what it needs to recover faster, so it can rebuild muscles and make you stronger and faster.

Eat a healthy meal

Your body needs basic building blocks like protein in order to repair the damage to your muscles that are part of what made them sore. Eat about 30 minutes after your workout to help fuel the recovery of your muscles.

 Roll your muscles

Foam rolling helps move the liquid in your muscles around, improving flexibility, reducing soreness, and making you feel better. You don't have to buy a foam roller either, a dowel or even a rolling pin will work to smooth your muscle soreness away.

Avoid NSAIDS

When your muscles are sore, you may be tempted to pop a quick pill to ease the tension, but by reducing inflammation in your muscles you may be missing a key part of the muscle building process. Although soreness isn't fun, avoid anti-inflammatories so your muscles will strengthen and you won't have to endure more soreness later to get the same results.

 Sore muscles are rough, but they don't have to linger. By resting, hydrating, and eating healthy you can limit the amount of soreness you experience.