Changes

The soreness of DOMS is different to a 'pulled' muscle. With DOMS, large areas of the muscle are very tender to the toughtouch, and the pain is very unpleasant. With a pulled muscle, the area of tenderness is usually more localized and the pain of massage is sometimes described as a 'good pain'. The pain of DOMS will normally lessen with light exercise such as walking. This is often described as 'loosening' up.