How to Manage Muscle Pain After Workouts and Dance Practices
It’s normal to have muscle pain after exercising and long dance practices. When your body works hard, your muscle fibers incur micro-tears, resulting in soreness and pain. While an expected response to intense physical activity, muscle pain can interfere with your work, squad responsibilities, audition prep, household chores, and more.
But don’t worry, because there are plenty of ways you can manage muscle pain. This list will guide you.
1. Take cannabidiol (CBD) oil
Cannabidiol extract from cannabis plants binds to the pain receptors in your neurotransmitters when consumed, resulting in pain relief. A study showed that CBD is highly effective, especially when it comes to managing muscle pain in athletes. But remember to only buy pure CBD oil formula without tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to avoid any psychoactive effects.
2. Take a cold or hot bath
Whether it’s through a shower or a dip in an ice-filled tub, a cold bath is a great way to soothe muscle pain and reduce inflammation after intense physical activity. On the contrary, hot baths increase muscle blood flow for faster recovery,
3. Apply a cold then hot compress
If you’re not ready to bathe in high heat or frosty water yet, you can choose to apply a compress. This is beneficial if your muscle pains are minimal and found in specific areas instead of your entire body.
4. Eat a high-protein meal
After a cold or hot bath, nourish yourself with a high-protein meal. Although eating high-protein foods isn’t as effective for relieving muscle pain as quickly as the previous strategies listed, they can still help support your body's recovery process while preserving muscle mass.
5. Take Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
If you don’t like the tips mentioned above, you can always choose to take conventional medications for pain relief. However, we don’t recommend that as the likes of aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and naproxen would interfere with muscle gain. They can also cause liver damage when taken frequently.
6. Get a massage
Like a hot bath, therapeutic massages can improve blood circulation. Although the early minutes of a session can be painful, getting pressed in the right areas stimulates nerve fibers, resulting in long-lasting pain relief.
7. Stretch gently
Another way to increase blood flow for faster muscle pain recovery is by stretching. The only caveat to this is that you must have a high tolerance for discomfort as stretching may amplify the pain. However, once you get used to stretching your body with sore muscles, you’ll find it easy to move in the future while being in pain.
8. Use over-the-counter topical pain relief products
Pain relief medications aren’t always taken orally. Salonpas patches, Tiger Balm, and BioFreeze are just some of the topical pain relief brands you can buy from any pharmacy without a prescription. They also come in different forms: cream, ointment, gel, spray, roll-on, and oil.
All of these muscle pain relief tips are effective. But nothing beats the good ol’ rest and recovery. If you have a free day after a dance practice or intense workout session, take it easy and relax at home.
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