Walk it Off: Treating DOMS With an UPLIFT Treadmill Desk

I’ve been coaching and playing flag football in the Round Rock Parks and Recreation City League for just over 10 years now. It seems that as I get older, it’s taking longer for my body to recover from the bumps, bruises, and general soreness that inevitably go along with the sport. The older guys on my team (the few that are actually older than me anyway) tell me that this increased recovery time is something that only gets worse.

Anything from flag football to tennis, or even a round of golf when your body isn't used to that kind of activity, can lead to Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. According to Reader’s Digest, DOMS is caused by microscopic tearing of muscle fibers, leading to pain 24-72 hours after your work out. Basically if you've ever had a tough workout, and had your muscle soreness hit you the hardest two days later, you've experienced DOMS.

Before this week I didn't know about DOMS, but I have heard and used the saying, “the second day is always worse,” whenever new players complain on Monday night about soreness from our Saturday morning practices. Whether I said it or not, I’d usually try to follow that comment with another gem of sagely advice: “Walk it off, wimp!” That usually helps.

While there is no proven cure for delayed onset muscle soreness, nearly every study I could find, including the one I’ve linked here from the Huffington Post, raised two ways to help: Stretching and light exercise. This makes perfect sense because light activities such as stretching and walking increase blood flow, and blood flow helps the healing process.

In the past, after a Monday night game, I would spend Tuesday huddled at my computer resting my legs and Wednesday I would be twice as sore. But now, with my UPLIFT Treadmill Desk, it’s easy to knock out a couple of miles of easy walking the day after a big game, and I've noticed a change. With 30 minutes to an hour of walking while I work, I feel like I can save myself from a whole day’s worth of soreness.

Now, when my players complain of soreness, I still tell them that the second day is the worst. But I also recommend the UPLIFT Treadmill Desk and tell them that they can ease the pain the way I do, by “walking it off." And then I call them a wimp.

To learn more about the many health benefits of the UPLIFT Treadmill Desk, visit TheHumanSolution.com.

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