Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is considered an indirect marker of muscle damage, which is characterized by ultrastructural changes in skeletal muscle (e.g., Z-band streaming[1]). Muscle damage is a common occurrence after unfamiliar and vigorous exercise, particularly exercise that involves high force eccentric muscle contractions.[2]
It’s been suggested that muscle damage promotes enhanced tissue remodeling or muscle hypertrophy,[3] and the notion that DOMS are one of the best indicators of effective training is rampant among individuals who regularly perform resistance exercise.
However, resistance exercise interventions that produce minimal muscle damage can promote muscle gain,[4] and can even result in as much muscle gain as those that produce substantial muscle damage.[5] Additionally, concentric-only and eccentric-only resistance exercises (“concentric” refers to the active lifting of the weight, as opposed to the lowering or “eccentric” portion) promote similar muscle gain, even though the latter exercises induce more muscle damage.[6][7] Thirdly, although modes of exercise such as prolonged or downhill running can provoke significant DOMS,[2] they do not promote significant muscle gain.
The most notable evidence demonstrating that muscle damage does not mediate muscle gain stems from a randomized controlled trial by Damas and colleagues published in 2016.[8] Over a 10-week resistance exercise intervention, there was an inverse correlation between muscle damage/DOMS and muscle gain; muscle gain was not observed until the initial muscle damage from the training intervention had attenuated.
Taken together, the evidence suggests that muscle damage does not seem to be necessary for muscle growth, and that training programs which produce substantial muscle damage may not enhance muscle gain.[9] Therefore, individuals interested in muscle gain should not aim to get as sore as possible after their workouts, although a small-to-moderate amount of DOMS may occur during the initial week of a new training program or after a particularly intensive workout. Moreover, the evidence above suggests that the school of thought that progressing through a training plateau requires a new, acutely damaging training stimulus to “shock” complacent muscles into further growth may be misguided. Muscle hypertrophy seems to occur only in significant amounts after muscle damage has attenuated,[8] suggesting that avoiding DOMS through steadily ramping up intensity over time may be superior to an acute beat-down.
Constantly chasing the DOMS dragon (so to speak) may have additional negative effects on muscle gain. The pain associated with DOMS can reduce motivation and deter some individuals from sticking to their resistance exercise program. For those not deterred, DOMS and muscle damage can also negatively affect resistance exercise performance — and thus muscle gain — by impairing movement patterns, resulting in reduced range of motion and reduced activation of the targeted musculature along with diminished force capacity.[10]
References
- ^Somogyi E, Balogh I, Sótonyi PAlterations of the Z-band in cardiac and skeletal muscles.Acta Morphol Acad Sci Hung.(1976)
- ^Daniel J Owens, Craig Twist, James N Cobley, Glyn Howatson, Graeme L CloseExercise-induced Muscle Damage: What Is It, What Causes It and What Are the Nutritional Solutions?Eur J Sport Sci.(2019 Feb)
- ^Yu JG, Carlsson L, Thornell LEEvidence for myofibril remodeling as opposed to myofibril damage in human muscles with DOMS: an ultrastructural and immunoelectron microscopic study.Histochem Cell Biol.(2004-Mar)
- ^LaStayo P, McDonagh P, Lipovic D, Napoles P, Bartholomew A, Esser K, Lindstedt SElderly patients and high force resistance exercise--a descriptive report: can an anabolic, muscle growth response occur without muscle damage or inflammation?J Geriatr Phys Ther.(2007)
- ^Flann KL, LaStayo PC, McClain DA, Hazel M, Lindstedt SLMuscle damage and muscle remodeling: no pain, no gain?J Exp Biol.(2011-Feb-15)
- ^Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn DI, Vigotsky AD, Franchi MV, Krieger JWHypertrophic Effects of Concentric vs. Eccentric Muscle Actions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.J Strength Cond Res.(2017-Sep)
- ^Douglas J, Pearson S, Ross A, McGuigan MChronic Adaptations to Eccentric Training: A Systematic Review.Sports Med.(2017-May)
- ^Damas F, Phillips SM, Libardi CA, Vechin FC, Lixandrão ME, Jannig PR, Costa LA, Bacurau AV, Snijders T, Parise G, Tricoli V, Roschel H, Ugrinowitsch CResistance training-induced changes in integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis are related to hypertrophy only after attenuation of muscle damageJ Physiol.(2016 Sep 15)
- ^Damas F, Libardi CA, Ugrinowitsch CThe development of skeletal muscle hypertrophy through resistance training: the role of muscle damage and muscle protein synthesis.Eur J Appl Physiol.(2018-Mar)
- ^Is Postexercise Muscle Soreness a Valid Indicator of Muscular Adaptations?Strength and Conditioning Journal.(2013-10)