Network Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 30

For example, if you have done a lot of heavy squats, and the next day your thigh and buttocks are sore, this is D.O.M.S. The pain is over a large area throughout the muscles, and usually on both sides. The best thing to do is rest, gently stretch and avoid training the sore body parts at that intensity for 48-72 hours. Doing muscle building and strength training programs means you will most likely get D.O.M.S. Although many people refer to this as a ‘good pain’, it is a commonly held misconception that unless they are experiencing D.O.M.S they have not worked out hard enough. You need to make sure you are on the correct graded training program for your level of fitness, strength and conditioning. Severe D.O.M.S D.O.M.S is one thing, but severe D.O.M.S, whereby you have muscle pain that prevents you from walking properly or standing up from a seated position, means you have pushed it too far. If your client has severe D.O.M.S, they are likely to change their patterns of movement in order to avoid the pain in the muscles. This will make them compensate during exercise with other muscle groups and overload biomechanically, thereby causing an actual injury. THE QUICK READ • Clients may struggle to differentiate D.O.M.S from injury • Over-training that results in severe D.O.M.S should be avoided because it can lead to compensatory movement patterns that result in an actual injury occurring • A muscle injury is usually a muscle tear, and features a severe and localised pain in one small area in the muscle • Pain that comes on during exercise, eases afterwards and then returns during exercise, is usually caused by inflammation or irritation of tendons and joints. Again, the treatment for severe D.O.M.S is simply rest, then gentle stretching. The client should also adjust their training in order to avoid the problem reoccurring. If the client has experienced severe D.O.M.S as a result of following a training program that you have prescribed for them, then you will need to reassess the program and correct its level and intensity. Does your client have severe D.O.M.S or an actual muscle injury? Determining whether it’s just severe D.O.M.S, or whether your client has actually suffered an injury, is all down to the nature of the pain, the surface area and when it happens. With a muscle injury, the pain is localised to one small area in the muscle, is more severe and has an ache with it. There is sharp pain on flexing the muscle and there is a loss of power. With injury the pain comes on either during or immediately after training (not the next day or so like with D.O.M.S). The pain can last for many days, and sometimes weeks or even longer. If your client has pain like this, they most likely have suffered a muscle ‘tear’. As soon as they feel this type of pain, your client needs to get the injury assessed in order to ascertain the extent of the damage and determine what to do about it. This is not a time to just wait and hope it goes away. Seeing a physiotherapist for rehabilitation will increase the client’s chances of returning to exercise more quickly by helping their recovery, improving their strength and preventing the breakdown in their training regime. The physio will also be able to work out why your client is getting injured in the first place, and help prevent it happening again. When pain comes and goes, is it an injury? If your client is experiencing pain that comes on during exercise but eases afterwards and then returns when they exercise again, they need to take notice. This type of pain is usually from inflammation or irritation of tendons and joints, and sometimes other serious structures (like discs in the back). The pain can occur with certain movements, such as in the shoulder when raising the arm, on the outside of the knee- cap during a run, or in the lower back after bending. As soon as the exercise or movement ceases, the pain subsides, but it 30 | NETWORK SPRING 2019