DOMS, how to prevent and treat

While the biochemical theories behind what causes muscle soreness are complex and, it seems, ever changing, experts in the field agree it all boils down to doing too much too soon. And springtime -- with its beckoning ball diamonds, forest preserves, bike paths and sunshine, is the peak season for DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness.

"Some people don't believe that they're exercising enough unless they really hurt the next day," said Chuck Schulte, a personal trainer, physical therapist and co-owner of Diamond Physical Therapy in Algonquin. "It's not necessarily deleterious to create some muscle soreness; we all get it, but if you can't lift your arms, there's no advantage to starting out that intensely when you look at it in the long run."

John Krzyston, a tester for the American College of Sports Medicine and manager at The Fox Athletic Club in Geneva, agrees. "To a point, yes, you might feel sore if you haven't done anything all winter," but there are ways to prevent the excessive soreness that makes it painful to move, he said.

Because muscle soreness can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to set in, Schulte said less is best if you're getting back into warm weather sports or trying something new.

"The big thing is not to go crazy the first day," Schulte said. "Generally, you need to ease into whatever the activity is, so if you're a softball player and you practice an hour or so, you might get a little sore" as opposed to diving into a four hour tournament that leaves you in traction.

"It's relative to how active that person is to begin with," Schulte added. "If they sat on the couch all winter watching the Olympics and eating potato chips, they're going to have to be more careful than someone who's working out regularly."

But regardless of your current condition, "It's important to warm up," Krzyston stressed, "[with at least] five to 10 minutes of cardiovascular activity to get the heart rate up and blood pumping through the muscles followed by a light stretching routing that hits all the major muscle groups."

After vigorous activity, you should also cool down gradually and do some more stretching. "All those preventative measures will help decrease soreness," Krzyston said.

If you do experience soreness, both experts say the best remedy is a light workout -- going for a walk, swim or bike ride, for example -- followed by light stretching, which will increase circulation in the muscles and flush out some of the byproducts of those aforementioned biochemical processes that are making you ache.

Hot showers, whirlpools or ibuprofen may help in extreme cases, though Schulte noted that it takes a couple of days for anti-inflammatory medicine to build up in your system; by that time, most of the soreness is gone anyway, he said.

� Copyright 1994 Paula Lauer