Health.com discusses delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after a difficult workout and includes guidance from HSS physical therapist Robert Andrews PT, DPT.

According to Andrews, “DOMs, or delayed onset muscle soreness, refers to soreness or muscle pain you experience anywhere from a few hours to a few days after exercising.”

DOMs can usually be the result of doing a more intense workout—or using an amount of resistance (like heavier weights or a thicker resistance band)—than your body is used to, he said.

If someone is experiencing DOMS, they will probably have “an aching pain in the muscle, stiffness, throbbing, tightness, and that your muscle is painful to touch or rub. The aching also usually gets worse when you try to stretch or flex your muscle,” explained Andrews.

If the body is being pushed hard in each and every working and causing soreness for days, this might be causing excessive damage to muscles. “Gradual, progressive exercise that challenges the body and causes mild to moderate soreness is a better goal,” he advised.

“Just because you don't feel sore doesn't mean your body isn't getting stronger. Soreness that affects your daily life shouldn't be the goal,” he added.

Andrews noted while DOMS is a normal process (and not a bad thing), it shouldn't be an ever-present part of your workout routine and life.

Read the full article at Health.com.