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This study aimed to determine whether high-intensity dumbbell exercise involving both concentric and eccentric contractions would provide a temporary alleviation of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It also examined the effect of alleviated muscle soreness on dynamic muscle performance using a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC; peak angular acceleration and velocity of the elbow during both lowering and concentric phases) to provide indirect evidence that DOMS contributes to the dynamic performance decrement after eccentric injury. Thirteen untrained adults performed 30 maximal isokinetic eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors to induce eccentric damage. Five sets of arm curls using a dumbbell (equivalent to 70% of isometric maximal voluntary contraction) were then performed until failure on days 1, 2, 3, and 5 of recovery. Muscle soreness significantly decreased after each session of dumbbell exercise (p = 0.001). Isometric strength further decreased immediately after dumbbell exercise, indicating muscle fatigue (p < 0.001). Dynamic performance variables were less affected by fatigue, however, with performance being reduced only for peak lowering velocity (p < 0.001). Other measures of dynamic performance were relatively constant after dumbbell exercise, particularly on days 2 and 3 when soreness was greatest. It was concluded that high-intensity concentric/eccentric dumbbell exercise was able to temporarily alleviate DOMS and that this reduction in soreness served to counter the effect of peripheral muscle fatigue during dynamic activities. Practical applications of this study are that after eccentric damage, alleviation of muscle soreness through an optimal warm-up may be helpful to temporarily recover dynamic muscle performance. Free-weight loading is one suggested technique to temporarily manage DOMS. KEY WORDS exercise-induced analgesia, DOMS, isometric strength, stretch-shortening cycle

This study examined the recovery of static and dynamic muscle performance after eccentric damage with and without repeated exercise, using different exercise modes between the initial and subsequent exercise bouts. Twelve nonweight-trained adults performed both control and repeated exercise conditions. Soreness, limb circumference, static joint angles, creatine kinase (CK), isometric strength, and dynamic muscle performance involving a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) were monitored for 7 days to evaluate the recovery. After baseline measures, subjects performed 30 maximal isokinetic eccentric contractions (90 degrees/second) of the elbow flexors in each experiment. For the control condition, no treatment was applied. For the repeated exercise condition, 5 sets of arm curls using dumbbells (70% isometric maximal voluntary contraction of each testing day) were performed until failure on days 1, 2, 3, and 5 of recovery. Significant condition vs. time interactions existed in circumference (p = 0.012), static relaxed angle (p = 0.013), isometric strength (p = 0.039), and dynamic extension angle (p = 0.039), suggesting a slightly delayed onset of recovery with the repeated exercise. SSC performance changed more in parallel with soreness after eccentric exercise than did the other measures. It was concluded that the repeated bout effect was present, although slightly reduced, when subsequent exercise performed before recovery was intense and differed in mode from the initial eccentric exercise. Practical applications of this research are that resistance training may be continued after eccentric damage; however, a minor delay in the onset of recovery may occur depending on training modes. Muscle soreness is a good indicator of performance decrement during dynamic movements following eccentric damage. KEY WORDS DOMS, strength, stretch-shortening cycle, repeated bout effect