Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Now that summer is finally with us to stay, many people are motivated to get into exercising again. That is great!

One problem many people from new exercisers to hardcore trainers run into is post exercise soreness. There is a technical name for this pain in the muscles that occurs 1-2 days after the workout; it is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS.

DOMS is actually caused by the inflammation from small microscopic tearing of muscle fibers and surrounding soft tissues. The damaged muscles release chemical irritants that contact pain receptors and cause them to fire pain signals to the brain. Generally, the pain of DOMS will go away within just a few days without lasting effects. In the meantime, it will more than likely keep you from being as active as you’d like to be, or just hinder normal movements with pain.

Diet Soda

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Pepsi has just announced that Diet Pepsi will be switching from aspartame to sucralose, as the artificial sweetener.

So why is Pepsi Co switching?  As many studies over the years have shown, aspartame is just hazardous to your health. It is carcinogenic in many ways, and people are rejecting its use.

Sucralose, or Splenda, isn’t really a better alternative at all. It has many of the same adverse effects as aspartame including, headaches, seizures, GI problems, heart palpitations, respiratory difficulties, and ironically, weight gain.