Fitness
9 Ways to Soothe Muscle Soreness -- FastFeeling the burn post-workout? These tips will help you get rid of sore muscles so you can get back to the gym |
PHOTO 2/11
Why it works: According to Weintraub, inflammation is a sign that your body is in healing mode. "Taking steps to lower inflammation (such as compression gear or anti-inflammatories) is impeding your body's healing process," he explains.
"The body uses inflammation to transfer wastes out of the area and replace them with new blood, glucose and the base proteins that will be used to rebuild damaged tissues," explains Weintraub. Taking anti-inflammatories skips over a part of the healing process. Plus, he says Advil can "fool" you into working out when you really need to take a recovery day. This is not as big a deal if you do it rarely, but if it becomes habit those micro-injuries in your muscles will fill in with scar tissue instead of healthy tissue -- which can lead to a more severe injury and cause you to have less flexibility and endurance, he says.
SEE NEXT PAGE: Two Words: Chocolate Milk
