Sore muscles - of pain and discomfort, of throbbing and burning or of the heaviness that comes about. The hampering of activities and the general ache that settles all over you, refusing to budge. If you've ever had a muscle sore, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Sometimes it may feel like there is the occurrence of sore muscles for no reason but that is never the case. Sore muscles come about when there is a muscle pull caused due to strenuous exercises or from excessive pressure that is put on the muscles. This phenomenon in medical terms is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which, unlike a sprain, occurs when there is sudden increased pressure put on the muscles, of which the muscles are not used to. The unique factor of this is that muscle pulls make way about 8-12 hours after the incident and not immediately, like sprains do. This then leads to the build up of lactic acid in the muscles and causes for the burning sensation - which is a common phenomenon with sore muscles. The excess pressure also causes tears in the muscle fibers and leads to several symptoms. The most common symptoms of these are pain, swelling, inflammation, discoloration of skin, tautness in skin and burning of the affected muscles. These symptoms need to be dealt with immediately by undertaking the appropriate sore muscle treatment, because the discomfort and pain will hamper all normal activities. In the following section we will look into the ways in which sore muscle relief can be brought about. Treatment Methods for Sore Muscles There are certain treatment forms that can be undertaken for the complete recovery of the sore muscles that come about. Here are the same. Medication Painkillers are usually administered so that the pain and muscle sore and inflammation can be brought down. The pain will hamper normal activity so this is the first thing that needs to be tackled and then the rest of the treatment will follow. Intake of Vitamins as well as other herbal products like ginger and sage are also known to relieve the pain and discomfort. Drinking plenty of water is also necessary for a speedy recovery. Rest When there is a muscle pull, one has to stop exerting it completely. Which means that you have to stop training or indulging in any of the activities which can lead to an exertion of the muscles and lead to more complications. Along with that there has to be complete rest provided for the pulled muscles so that they can recover faster. Ice Pack An ice pack or even a cold bath will lead to the constricting of the blood vessels and cause for the blood flow to be blocked. The ice pack should always be wrapped in a cloth before being used on the skin because direct contact with the skin can cause for rupturing of blood vessels. Use the ice pack on the muscle pull at a stretch of 15-20 minutes each. Move it around in circles for a better massage. Repeat this exercise 2-3 times a day. Elevation Try to keep the sore muscles elevated so that the blood flow is always good and thus leads to faster recovery. Stretching and Massages Doing certain stretching exercises like swimming as well as indulging in light massages with the help of oils helps in relieving the muscle soreness. Never use a heat pack as means of sore muscle treatment, because heat packs will lead to the flow of blood to the area and cause for more pain and soreness. Similarly, if one has to prevent the onset of sore muscles, make sure that you carry through some warm up exercises so that excessive pressure is not exerted on the muscles. The sore muscles recovery time will be different for different people, but generally it will take anytime between 7-15 days for a full recovery. And now that you have some of the sore muscle remedies, you can carry through these solutions, get the desired results and be done with the pain and soreness.