Preventing and Treating Muscle Soreness
by Jackie Ansley

Post-exercise muscle soreness is one of the least enjoyable facets of the basketball experience. But more than that, it is one of the main limiters of performance, because when muscles are sore, they are damaged, and when muscles are damaged, players cannot perform to their full potential.

A study completed recently at Ball State University made this point concretely. The hamstrings strength of a group of runners was tested before they ran a 10K race (about the same distance a college basketball player runs during a game), immediately afterward, and 48 hours afterward. It was found that the runners' hamstrings strength remained significantly reduced two full days after the race, almost certainly due to lingering muscle tissue damage that is associated with post-exercise muscle soreness.

Post-exercise muscle soreness is caused primarily by microscopic tearing in muscle fibers that occurs when muscles are worked hard. The breakdown of muscle proteins for energy, which occurs mainly toward the end of long workouts and games, and damage to muscle cells caused by oxygen radicals may also contribute. Athletes can't prevent muscle soreness completely, but there are several ways they can reduce it and treat it and thereby minimize its impact on their performance. Here are the top recommendations you can give your players:

Preventing Muscle Soreness
1. Warm up thoroughly at the beginning of every practice and before every game. Preceding intense activity with light activity warms and lubricates the muscles, making them less prone to tearing during the ensuing practice or game. Players can even pre-warm their muscles by rubbing a heat inducing gel such as Sports Balm into their legs about 30 minutes before they play.

2. Keep in shape during the off-season. Muscle damage is worse when a player's body is required to work much harder than it is accustomed to working. Players who maintain a high level of conditioning throughout the year will be less overwhelmed by long practices and hard games and will therefore wind up feeling less sore afterwards.

3. Cool down thoroughly at the end of practices and after games. Circulation is the primary means by which the muscles repair themselves after intense exercise. Finishing practices and following up games with low-intensity activity keeps circulation levels up without further damaging muscle fibers and thereby kick-starts the recovery process.

4. Use a sports drink that contains carbohydrate and protein. The carbohydrate content in these sports drinks helps players hold onto their muscle carbohydrate stores longer. This is important in relation to muscle soreness because when muscle carbohydrate stores run low, the body begins to break down its own muscles for energy. The protein content in these drinks will give players' muscles something else it can use for energy besides their body's own muscle proteins during the latter portions of hard workouts when carbohydrate fuel runs low.

Treating Muscle soreness
1. Practice self-massage. A few times each week, players should find 10 or 12 minutes to massage their own legs, applying a lubricant, pressing into the muscles with their thumbs or knuckles and sliding them toward the feet. This will keep circulation levels up and accelerate recovery.

2. Ice any sore areas, or take an ice bath if they can stand it. Post-exercise muscle soreness is caused not so much by the muscle damage itself as by the inflammation that occurs as a natural part of the healing process. This is why players tend to be more sore 24 to 48 hours after intense exercise than they are immediately afterward. Icing sore spots and taking ice baths are the best ways of reducing inflammation without inhibiting tissue repair.

3. Stretch. Stretching is another good way to increase circulation and accelerate tissue repair. It also has the effect of immediately increasing mobility, which can be compromised by muscle soreness.

4. Consume protein immediately after practices and games. The faster players get protein into their body, the faster their body can go to work repairing muscle damage. They should always consume plenty of carbohydrate, to restore energy, and fluids for rehydration following workouts as well. The most convenient way to get all of this nutrition is to continue drinking the carbohydrate-protein sports drink that was used during the practice or game.

5. Maintain a diet high in antioxidants, and especially vitamin E, which has been proven to reduce free radical damage to muscle tissues in athletes. Good sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils, nuts, dark green vegetables, and whole grains.