DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It’s the muscle pain you feel after an exercise, which generally gets worse as the next day or so progress. Within several days, the pain will usually subside. But what, exactly, is the cause of the pain?
A buildup of lactic acid will cause burning sensations around heavily worked muscles, but lactic acid disperses fairly quickly and so cannot be accounted for a delayed soreness. Instead, it is thought that the cause of DOMS is muscle damage caused by eccentric or lengthening muscle contractions, specifically during new training programs or exercises which you are unaccustomed to. It’s why you may never hurt much after the gym but after a few games of beach volleyball, you can barely walk for days afterwards.
The reason why the pain gets worse as time progresses, although still debated, is likely due to inflammation and the muscle tissue repair process that starts occurring after the damage.
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