DOMS — Does More Pain Mean More Muscle Gain?

 

If you’ve ever woken up a day or two after a workout feeling stiff, tender, or “hit by a truck,” you’ve experienced DOMS—delayed onset muscle soreness. It’s common to assume that the more sore you are, the better the workout must have been. But soreness and results don’t have a simple one-to-one relationship.

DOMS is the muscle soreness that typically shows up 24–72 hours after training. It can range from mild stiffness and tenderness to significant soreness that makes everyday movement feel harder than it should.

 

DOMS is especially common after:

• New exercise programs
• Higher training loads
• Eccentric movements (the “lowering” phase of a lift, like lowering into a squat or lowering a dumbbell in a curl

Because DOMS can feel intense, it’s easy to treat it like a badge of honor—proof you “worked hard enough.” Many people even use soreness as their main feedback signal for whether training is effective. But that's not actually the case.

 

The Issue:

If I'm sore, I must be getting results.....That mindset can quietly push training in an unhelpful direction. Instead of focusing on measurable progression and good programming, people start making decisions based on how sore they feel after a session, such as:

• Chasing soreness instead of progression
• Overtraining or pushing too hard
• Misinterpreting pain as effectiveness
• Avoiding consistency due to excessive recovery time

DOMS is also inconsistent. You might feel surprisingly sore after a new strength program or a session with lots of slow eccentrics, yet barely sore after a hard run you’re well-adapted to—or the opposite if running is new to you. The presence (or absence) of soreness often reflects novelty more than it reflects training quality. DOMS is not a reliable indicator of progress or adaptation. When soreness becomes the goal—or when it repeatedly forces you to take extra days off—it can reduce training frequency, disrupt momentum, and chip away at motivation over time.

The Solution:

DOMS is a normal response to unfamiliar or increased loading, especially when eccentrics are involved. It’s information about what your body isn’t fully accustomed to yet—not a scorecard for how “successful” the workout was.

What actually builds muscle:

• Progressive overload
• Consistent training
• Appropriate recovery
• Good programming
  
  

Managing DOMS:

 

1. Keep moving:

Light activity often helps you feel better without interfering with recovery. Think walking, easy cycling, gentle mobility work, or a lighter version of your usual training—enough to increase blood flow and reduce stiffness, not enough to “test” the sore muscle.

 

2. Recovery strategies:

Prioritise sleep, hydration, and adequate protein and overall energy intake. Techniques like massage and foam rolling can provide short-term symptom relief (you may feel looser or less tender), even if they don’t dramatically speed up the underlying recovery process.

What's not strongly supported:

• Cryotherapy
• Stretching alone
• Electrical/ultrasound therapies

Key Takeaway:

• You do not need to be sore for exercise to be effective.
• Chasing soreness can lead you to train too hard, too often, or with too much novelty—then miss sessions because you’re wiped out or dreading the next round of stiffness.
• Consistency beats occasional “destroyed” workouts almost every time.

At EPB, we will encourage you to aim for:

• Better movement
• Gradual progression
• Improved strength and function
• Sustainable long-term results

 

 References:

1. Cheung, K., Hume, P., & Maxwell, L. (2003). Delayed onset muscle soreness: Treatment strategies and performance factors. Sports Medicine, 33(2), 145–164.
2. Proske, U., & Morgan, D. L. (2001). Muscle damage from eccentric exercise: Mechanism, mechanical signs, adaptation and clinical applications. The Journal of Physiology, 537(2), 333–345.
3. Hyldahl, R. D., & Hubal, M. J. (2014). Lengthening our perspective: Morphological, cellular, and molecular responses to eccentric exercise. Muscle & Nerve, 49(2), 155–170.
4. Dupuy, O., Douzi, W., Theurot, D., Bosquet, L., & Dugué, B. (2018). An evidence-based approach for choosing post-exercise recovery techniques to reduce markers of muscle damage, soreness, fatigue, and inflammation: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, 403