Muscle Micro-Damage

Incorrect execution of physical exercises, introduction of new elements into the training process, poor quality warm-up, and adverse training conditions (improper temperature, humidity, etc.) contribute to micro-damage in muscles.

Types of Muscle Micro-Damage:

1. DOMS Syndrome (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness): Occurs 1–2 days after performing physical exercises not included in the regular training plan. While not a severe pathology (except for its extreme manifestation, rhabdomyolysis, or acute necrosis of skeletal muscles), DOMS can lead to athletes stopping training for several weeks.
2. Muscle Strain Injury: Develops when a muscle is excessively stretched or exerted beyond physiologically permissible limits.

Mechanism of Development

The American physiologist Theodor Hough, who first described the syndrome in 1902, attributed it to damage to muscle tissue elements. Myocytes, or muscle cells, involved in exercise, get damaged, resulting in microtraumas. However, the exact mechanism of DOMS development is not fully understood. The soreness develops from intensive rhythmic, abrupt muscle contractions without notable fatigue.

Treatment Methods

• Use of warming ointments and creams containing salicylates, menthol, thymol, camphor.
• Agents to relieve muscle spasm.
• Metabolic drugs (such as Neoton) and venotonics like Lioton 1000, Troxevasin, etc.
• Therapeutic massage to relieve muscle spasm and normalize metabolism, lymph flow, and blood circulation.

Rhabdomyolysis

Rhabdomyolysis, or acute necrosis of skeletal muscles, represents the extreme manifestation of delayed onset muscle soreness. It develops after training predominantly with eccentric exercises (where muscle elements lengthen) in untrained athletes who have not previously performed such physical activities. Poorly conducted warm-ups and high environmental temperatures are factors that contribute to the development of rhabdomyolysis.