It is important to identify the cause of your sore back after an exercise

Feeling slight pain after exercise is usually a good sign- a positive indicator that you made demands on your muscle and that they are rising to meet the task and grow. But there is a line that can be crossed and it is important to know when you cross it. Normal, manageable muscle soreness post-workout is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness- as long as it remains low-grade, there should be nothing to worry about. But it is important to know when post-workout pain is abnormal. This blog will give you some signs to look out for so that you don’t push yourself too far. 

Is it just natural soreness that proves you put in a good workout or is it something more?

The truth is that minor aching and stiffness is natural post-exercise- after all you did just put your muscles through a bout of strengthening that requires a rest and recovery period. But if your back pain is particularly notable or out of the ordinary (i.e. you don’t usually suffer from it after workouts), it could be worth investigating why. Often this may require the help of a doctor, for the simple reason that could be so many contributing factors.

• Tissue tightness and muscular imbalance
• Poor lifting form and posture
• Too much weight
• Lack of warm up/ cool down
• Weakness in auxiliary muscles

Signs that your pain is abnormal include:

• Did the pain begin during or immediately after your exercise? This is a sign that you are either performing the exercise wrong or your body is not fit/strong enough to perform it. 
• Is the pain bilateral? Do you feel pain on both sides or just one? 
• The pain should not persist- it should subside and completely disappear given a period of rest lasting from 1-3 days depending on the severity of the exercise. 
• Is the pain scaling up/increasing as time goes on? 
• The development of weakness, numbness and tingling indicates nerve problems 

Any of the above signs should convince you to take action and seek the help of a medical professional. At Holmes Chiropractic, we are experts in detecting and treating muscular dysfunction. If you suspect that you have overdone a workout and caused yourself a substantial injury, give our office a call so that we can determine the cause of your injury and set a course for treatment today.