The soreness you feel a day or two after a hard workout comes from tiny tears in your muscle fibers, not from lactic acid buildup (a common misconception). Your body repairs those micro-tears through an inflammatory process, which is what causes the stiffness and tenderness known as delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. The good news: several strategies can reduce that discomfort and speed up the repair process.
Why Your Muscles Get Sore
Your muscles are made of thousands of small fibers that stretch and contract as you move. When you push harder than usual, change exercises, or increase weight, some of those fibers develop microscopic tears. Your immune system responds with inflammation to clean up the damage and rebuild the tissue stronger than before. That inflammation peaks roughly 24 to 72 hours after exercise, which is why soreness often feels worst on the second day.
This process is actually productive. The repair work is how muscles grow and adapt. The goal isn’t to eliminate soreness entirely but to manage it so you recover faster and feel comfortable enough to stay active.
Keep Moving With Light Activity
One of the most effective things you can do for sore muscles is also the simplest: move. Light physical activity increases circulation without adding stress to damaged fibers. That extra blood flow delivers nutrients and warmth to the repair site while flushing out the metabolic waste products of muscle breakdown.
This doesn’t mean repeating yesterday’s workout. Think of gentle movement that keeps blood flowing: a 20-minute walk, easy cycling, swimming at a relaxed pace, or simple mobility exercises that take your joints through their full range of motion. The goal is circulation, not challenge. Even 10 to 15 minutes of light activity can noticeably reduce stiffness compared to sitting still all day.
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling works on a similar principle to light movement. When you press a roller into a muscle group, you squeeze out fluid carrying waste products from the breakdown process. When you release the pressure, fresh blood flows in. Research published by the National Strength and Conditioning Association found that subjects who performed a 20-minute foam rolling session immediately after exercise, then again at 24 and 48 hours, had significantly lower soreness in their quadriceps than those who skipped it.
You don’t need to spend 20 minutes on one area. Distribute the time across whichever muscle groups feel tight, rolling slowly and pausing on tender spots for 20 to 30 seconds before moving on.
Cold Therapy and Heat
Cold reduces both pain and inflammation. Ice packs on sore areas for 15 to 20 minutes work fine for targeted relief. Cold water immersion (ice baths) is popular among athletes, though the research on optimal temperature and duration is surprisingly mixed. A study testing various protocols, from brief dips in 10°C water to 10-minute soaks in near-freezing 6°C water, found that altering the duration, temperature, or dosage had minimal effect on DOMS outcomes. The coldest, longest soak produced the lowest soreness scores, but not by a statistically significant margin over shorter or warmer options. If you enjoy cold plunges, they won’t hurt, but a simple ice pack may give you a similar benefit with less discomfort.
Heat therapy is worth considering too, especially moist heat. Studies have shown that moist heat (like a steam room or a warm, damp towel) is more effective than dry heat for relieving DOMS. A steam room or a warm bath after a workout relaxes tense muscles and increases blood flow to sore areas. If you have access to both a sauna and a steam room, the steam room may have a slight edge for soreness specifically.
Protein for Repair
Your muscles can’t rebuild without adequate protein. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for people who exercise regularly. For a 150-pound person, that works out to roughly 82 to 116 grams daily.
Timing matters modestly. Aim for at least 15 to 25 grams of protein within two hours after exercise to stimulate muscle growth and repair. This could be a chicken breast, a cup of Greek yogurt, a protein shake, or a couple of eggs with toast. Hitting your total daily protein target is more important than the exact timing, but that post-workout window gives your body a head start on recovery.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherries are rich in compounds that reduce oxidative stress and muscle damage markers. Research has shown that supplementing with cherry juice concentrate (about 30 mL per day for 10 days around a hard training period) improved recovery of muscle strength. A study using 500 mg of tart cherry powder also found reduced markers of muscle damage. The benefits come from the natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds in the fruit. Look for tart cherry juice concentrate or powder rather than sweetened cherry drinks, which dilute the active compounds.
Magnesium
Magnesium helps reduce inflammation and relax muscles. Most men need 400 to 420 mg daily, and most women need 310 to 320 mg. If your diet is low in magnesium-rich foods (leafy greens, nuts, seeds, whole grains), a supplement can help fill the gap, but keep supplemental magnesium under 350 mg per day to avoid digestive issues like diarrhea.
Epsom salt baths (magnesium sulfate) are a popular home remedy. They can help soothe sore muscles through the warm water and relaxation, though the magnesium itself doesn’t absorb well through skin and won’t meaningfully raise your magnesium levels. The bath still feels great on sore muscles, just don’t rely on it as your magnesium source.
Sleep Is Where the Real Repair Happens
Growth hormone is the primary driver of muscle and bone repair, and your body releases it during sleep. Deep sleep, particularly the early non-REM phase, triggers a hormonal cascade that boosts growth hormone levels. This hormone builds muscle, strengthens bone, reduces fat tissue, and may even improve cognitive function when you wake up. Skipping sleep or sleeping poorly directly lowers growth hormone output, which slows recovery.
If you’re training hard and sleeping six hours a night, you’re undermining your own recovery more than any supplement can fix. Prioritizing seven to nine hours of quality sleep is one of the highest-impact recovery strategies available.
Over-the-Counter Pain Relief
Anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and naproxen reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Acetaminophen helps with pain but doesn’t target inflammation directly. These are fine for occasional use when soreness is making it hard to function, but leaning on them after every workout isn’t ideal. The inflammatory process is part of how your muscles adapt, and routinely blunting it may slow long-term training gains.
When Soreness Isn’t Normal
Typical DOMS peaks between 24 and 72 hours after exercise and gradually fades over three to five days. If your pain is more severe than you’d expect, persists well beyond that window, or comes with dark tea- or cola-colored urine, those are warning signs of rhabdomyolysis, a condition where damaged muscle fibers release their contents into the bloodstream. You might also notice extreme weakness or an inability to complete tasks you could normally handle.
Rhabdomyolysis symptoms can appear hours to several days after the initial muscle injury, and the only way to confirm it is with a blood test measuring a muscle protein called creatine kinase. Urine tests aren’t reliable because the relevant compound clears the body quickly. This condition is uncommon but serious, and it’s most likely after a sudden spike in exercise intensity, especially in hot conditions or after a long break from training.