i work out, slam a shake, jump in the hot tub for 10-20 minutes. my recovery seems to speed up.
another trick that may work, is to go back to the gym the next day, and just do one set with "3/4 of your warmup weight", spending a few more seconds on the negative. you should quickly get a "burn" from it - that's when you stop
in at least my situation (i can't speak for everyone), this helps flush the muscle with new blood, and new nutrients, and i have noticed it helps after an especially nasty workout, when day after DOMS is killing me.
from there, i take my shake and get in the hot tub. give it a shot - worse case scenario you'll get nothing out of it.
it is my opinion that the heat increases blood flow, which increases nutrient delivery via blood to the muscles, which makes this work. try it with creatine, or a NO product, if the hot tub alone is not helping
First of all, DOMS can actually be increased by spending more time on the negative. There was a study done that showed that DOMS was almost nonexistent when concentric only exercise was done. Take that for what you will.
Effects of deep heat as a preventative mechanism on delayed onset muscle soreness.
Brock Symons T, Clasey JL, Gater DR, Yates JW.
Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA.
The effects of increased muscle temperature via continuous ultrasound prior to a maximal bout of eccentric exercise were investigated on the symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) of the elbow flexors. Perceived muscle soreness, upper arm circumferences, range of motion (ROM), and isometric and isokinetic strength were measured over 7 days on 14 college-aged men (n = 6) and women (n = 8). Ten minutes of continuous ultrasound (ULT) or sham-ultrasound (CON) were administered. Muscle temperature was measured in the biceps brachii of both arms. Muscle temperature increased by 1.79 degrees +/- 0.49 degrees C (mean +/- SD) in the experimental arm of the ULT group. Muscle soreness was induced by a single bout of 50 maximal eccentric contractions. The ULT group did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) from the CON group with respect to perceived muscle soreness, upper arm circumference, ROM, and isometric and isokinetic strength. In conclusion, increased muscle temperature failed to provide significant prophylactic effects on the symptoms of DOMS.
Heat hasn't been shown helpful. It could make it worse if your body is producing a lot of cytokines/other inflammatory responses. It will probably help you feel better to relax though so that might be something that works for you but not everyone.
Delayed onset muscle soreness : treatment strategies and performance factors.
Cheung K, Hume P, Maxwell L.
School of Community Health and Sports Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a familiar experience for the elite or novice athlete. Symptoms can range from muscle tenderness to severe debilitating pain. The mechanisms, treatment strategies, and impact on athletic performance remain uncertain, despite the high incidence of DOMS. DOMS is most prevalent at the beginning of the sporting season when athletes are returning to training following a period of reduced activity. DOMS is also common when athletes are first introduced to certain types of activities regardless of the time of year. Eccentric activities induce micro-injury at a greater frequency and severity than other types of muscle actions. The intensity and duration of exercise are also important factors in DOMS onset. Up to six hypothesised theories have been proposed for the mechanism of DOMS, namely: lactic acid, muscle spasm, connective tissue damage, muscle damage, inflammation and the enzyme efflux theories. However, an integration of two or more theories is likely to explain muscle soreness. DOMS can affect athletic performance by causing a reduction in joint range of motion, shock attenuation and peak torque. Alterations in muscle sequencing and recruitment patterns may also occur, causing unaccustomed stress to be placed on muscle ligaments and tendons. These compensatory mechanisms may increase the risk of further injury if a premature return to sport is attempted.A number of treatment strategies have been introduced to help alleviate the severity of DOMS and to restore the maximal function of the muscles as rapidly as possible. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have demonstrated dosage-dependent effects that may also be influenced by the time of administration. Similarly, massage has shown varying results that may be attributed to the time of massage application and the type of massage technique used. Cryotherapy, stretching, homeopathy, ultrasound and electrical current modalities have demonstrated no effect on the alleviation of muscle soreness or other DOMS symptoms. Exercise is the most effective means of alleviating pain during DOMS, however the analgesic effect is also temporary. Athletes who must train on a daily basis should be encouraged to reduce the intensity and duration of exercise for 1-2 days following intense DOMS-inducing exercise. Alternatively, exercises targeting less affected body parts should be encouraged in order to allow the most affected muscle groups to recover. Eccentric exercises or novel activities should be introduced progressively over a period of 1 or 2 weeks at the beginning of, or during, the sporting season in order to reduce the level of physical impairment and/or training disruption. There are still many unanswered questions relating to DOMS, and many potential areas for future research.
The only thing they found to significantly work was massage therapy:
Effects of massage on delayed-onset muscle soreness, swelling, and recovery of muscle function.
Zainuddin Z, Newton M, Sacco P, Nosaka K.
Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
CONTEXT: Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes muscle pain and tenderness that typically develop several hours postexercise and consist of predominantly eccentric muscle actions, especially if the exercise is unfamiliar. Although DOMS is likely a symptom of eccentric-exercise-induced muscle damage, it does not necessarily reflect muscle damage. Some prophylactic or therapeutic modalities may be effective only for alleviating DOMS, whereas others may enhance recovery of muscle function without affecting DOMS. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that massage applied after eccentric exercise would effectively alleviate DOMS without affecting muscle function. DESIGN: We used an arm-to-arm comparison model with 2 independent variables (control and massage) and 6 dependent variables (maximal isometric and isokinetic voluntary strength, range of motion, upper arm circumference, plasma creatine kinase activity, and muscle soreness). A 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired t tests were used to examine differences in changes of the dependent variable over time (before, immediately and 30 minutes after exercise, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days postexercise) between control and massage conditions. SETTING: University laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Ten healthy subjects (5 men and 5 women) with no history of upper arm injury and no experience in resistance training. INTERVENTION(S): Subjects performed 10 sets of 6 maximal isokinetic (90 degrees x s(-1)) eccentric actions of the elbow flexors with each arm on a dynamometer, separated by 2 weeks. One arm received 10 minutes of massage 3 hours after eccentric exercise; the contralateral arm received no treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Maximal voluntary isometric and isokinetic elbow flexor strength, range of motion, upper arm circumference, plasma creatine kinase activity, and muscle soreness. RESULTS: Delayed-onset muscle soreness was significantly less for the massage condition for peak soreness in extending the elbow joint and palpating the brachioradialis muscle (P < .05). Soreness while flexing the elbow joint (P = .07) and palpating the brachialis muscle (P = .06) was also less with massage. Massage treatment had significant effects on plasma creatine kinase activity, with a significantly lower peak value at 4 days postexercise (P < .05), and upper arm circumference, with a significantly smaller increase than the control at 3 and 4 days postexercise (P < .05). However, no significant effects of massage on recovery of muscle strength and ROM were evident. CONCLUSIONS: Massage was effective in alleviating DOMS by approximately 30% and reducing swelling, but it had no effects on muscle function.
Sorry for the long post. DOMS can't be cured, only slightly reduced. If you want less DOMS, spend less time on the negative phase. I hardly do any extended negative work, just nice and controlled down and I rarely ever get DOMS, even after intense workouts. DOMS are NOT a good indicator of a good workout. That being said, getting DOMS doesn't mean you had a "bad" workout either.
