Effect of delayed-onset muscle soreness on elbow flexion strength and rate of velocity development

Eccentric muscle actions cause muscle damage and lead to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which may impair performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of DOMS on elbow flexion strength and rate of velocity development (RVD). Nineteen college male subjects performed 6 tests (pre- and posteccentric and every 24 hours for 4 days). In the preeccentric tests, each subject reported his arm pain and then did 5 concentric repetitions of elbow flexion/extension on an isokinetic dynamometer at 240 degrees x s(-1). Each subject then completed 6 sets of 10 eccentric elbow flexion actions at 30 degrees x s(-1) and finished with a posteccentric test with another 5 concentric repetitions at 240 degrees x s(-1). On days 1-4, each subject reported his arm pain and then did 5 more repetitions at 240 degrees x s(-1). Analysis was performed on the values for DOMS, peak torque (PT), and RVD. For DOMS, scores on the posteccentric test (2.34 +/- 2.53), day 1 (3.18 +/- 2.18), day 2 (3.21 +/- 2.91), day 3 (1.81 +/- 1.78), and day 4 (1.02 +/- 1.30) were all significantly (p < 0.05) greater than the preeccentric scores (0.00 +/- 0.00). For PT, the scores on the posteccentric test (22.40 +/- 8.87 ft x lb(-1)) and day 1 (23.88 +/- 9.00 ft x lb(-1)) were both significantly less than on the preeccentric test (29.56 +/- 8.42 ft x lb(-1)). The RVD scores on the posteccentric test (1505.73 +/- 462.12 d x s(-1) x s(-1)), day 1 (1571.55 +/- 475.99 d x s(-1) x s(-1)), and day 2 (1546.99 +/- 494.52 d x s(-1) x s(-1)) were all significantly less than on the preeccentric test (1719.86 +/- 473.18 d x s(-1) x s(-1)). This suggests that muscle damage may cause significant decreases in elbow flexion concentric strength and RVD even as DOMS remains elevated.