You might read the title and know exactly what we’re talking about, but for those of you who have no idea what “DOMS” stands for: we’re talking about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. In other words, the pain and stiffness that can be felt in your muscles after exercising too heavy or unusual. Since the gyms are open again and we can finally start working out again, we will likely experience DOMS in some way. Whether you have overestimated yourself at the squat rack or you’re experiencing stiffness in your muscles when practicing yoga, pain should never be felt after a good training session. If you are, however, experiencing DOMS after an intense workout, an acupressure mat can help to relieve the pain. In this blog, we will tell you how an acupressure mat works and how it helps to relieve DOMS. 

How and why do DOMS occur?

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, also known as DOMS, is a pain or tightness in your muscles that occurs after your workout. Pain that you feel during your workout is different from DOMS and is called Acute Muscle Soreness. DOMS occurs when you’re increasing the intensity of your workout, the frequency of your workouts or if you have a new training schedule. When your muscles have to work harder or in a completely different way, it's believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres. This might sound insanely scary and dangerous, but we are most likely all familiar with muscle soreness and, naturally, have all lived through it.  

Since we are getting back into the gyms after a couple of months with less or no physical activity of that intensity, our bodies aren’t used to the strain of workouts anymore. You will likely notice that your first couple of workouts will be harder than usual. Besides that, chances are high you will suffer from DOMS more than before. For one this will result in extreme muscle tightness, whereas others will experience back pain. 

Acupressure mat to relief DOMS

Acupressure has proven to be very effective in pain relief and can therefore be used to relieve DOMS. After an intense workout, we recommend using an acupressure mat for five minutes every day to relax the muscles and aid recovery. Acupressure is an ancient form of massage that finds its origin in Chinese medicine but has increased in popularity over the past years. Nowadays, you can enjoy the benefits of acupressure from the comfort of your own home by using an acupressure mat. This mat contains small plastic spikes that apply pressure to various points of your body. No worries, there is no need to worry about the spikes hurting you, as acupressure is completely painless. By targeting certain nerves and pressure points in your body, acupressure helps to restore balance to the body’s energy flow. 

Alternative benefits of acupressure 

The benefits of acupressure don’t stop at pain relief, as it can be used for many other purposes. In fact, a common misconception is that acupressure can only be used to relieve pain and tension in the muscles, whereas it has also proven to be effective in reducing stress and anxiety. Besides that, acupressure can improve your quality of sleep, fight migraines and lower high blood pressures. All in all, a great holistic treatment that can be used for many different health issues. 

If that hasn’t convinced you yet, maybe this will: an acupressure mat has very low costs but very long use. For only £49.95 you don’t only buy a mat, but an entire set including an acupressure pillow. That’s reason enough to buy one, we would say.