Soreness is something many people try to achieve through their training. To them, it is a sign of a "good workout" or a "job well done". In reality, soreness is micro-injury to the tissue and micro-truama to the neuromuscular system.
When a tissue is injured it is no longer able to contract properly. Looking at the neurophysiology of this, if there is damage or injury to a tissue a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is released by Type II inhibitory interneurons and bind to type B GABA receptors.[1] Not only are type B GABA receptors turned on by the immune system, but there is also a more long-term effect by activating them.[1] The Type II inhibitory interneurons block the 1a afferent motor neurons, and in doing so can decrease the force production capabilities of a muscle fiber and the range of motion of a joint by up to 50%.[1]
What all of this means is, by causing trauma to the tissue, in the form of exercise or movement, to the extent that you feel the after effects for a prolonged period of time, in the form of soreness, you are affecting the tissue in such a way that your strength and range of motion decrease for a period of time.
You're probably thinking, "Well duh, obviously I am weaker immediately after I train than before I train," and this may be true. But, what if you are weaker for a long enough period of time that you actually start to develop compensating movement patterns? Now, compensation is by no means bad. In fact, compensation is what allows us to move at all. The reality is, though, that if muscles are compensating for a long enough period of time, doing the job that other muscle fibers were designed to do, the propensity for injury is infinitely higher. How long the process takes of compensation turning into the main means to produce a movement turning into injury is completely based on the individual, but you need to ask yourself if it is a process you want to unnecessarily start.
The other issue with soreness is that of the three soft tissues impacted by training--muscle, tendons, and cartilage--muscles are the fastest to heal. What this means is, if the tissue that heals the fastest is injured and inflamed, there is definitely going to have been some damage done to the other two types of tissue. These take longer to heal, however, but eventually you start to feel their pain in the form of tendonitis and then arthritis.
So think about this the next time you train. Is soreness helping you to achieve your goals, or would you be better-served to go a little lighter on your training, building up the threshold of your tissue in a responsible manner to the point where you can handle high-intensity training sessions?
Charlie Cates, CSCS
Self Made®, Owner
Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.
This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.
1. Taylor, Jacques Henri. "Force and the Nervous System: An Introduction to the How and Why of MAT".
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