5 Best Home Remedies For Sore Muscles
Feeling sore and looking for the best home remedies for sore muscles? Here are the best ways to recover at home!
Hello and welcome to Ironwild Fitness. 🙂 I’m Chantal – a mom, personal trainer, nutrition coach, and the owner of this site. It’s nice to “meet” you!
When you’re going all-in on your exercise routine, or if you’re new to working out, sore muscles can put a damper on your motivation and energy. Even though it’s nice to feel a little soreness sometimes (it reminds you of how hard you worked), it can really slow down your progress if you’re too sore for too long.
I know exactly what it’s like to struggle with daily tasks (even going to the bathroom can hurt after leg day lol), let alone great workouts when you’re overly sore. If you’re staying really sore for several days at a time, it can cause your workouts to suffer. Then it throws off your whole routine, impacting your consistency and mindset.
So in today’s post, I want to talk about home remedies for sore muscles. But first, let’s discuss the cause of muscle soreness and what to do if you’re experiencing it too often.
Why Am I So Sore? Understanding Muscle Soreness
We’ve all been there—you crush a workout, feel amazing, and then wake up the next day (or often, two days later) feeling like you got hit by a truck. That deep, achy muscle soreness is totally normal, but if you’re feeling sore all the time, it might be a sign that something needs to change.
Muscle soreness, especially the kind that kicks in a day or two after exercise, is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). It happens when you push your muscles harder than they’re used to—whether that’s lifting heavier weights, trying a new workout, or just getting back into exercise after a break.
The soreness comes from tiny microscopic tears in your muscle fibers. This sounds scary, but it’s actually a good thing! Your body repairs these tiny tears, making your muscles stronger in the process. However, too much soreness can mean you’re overdoing it or not recovering properly. If you’re sore super often or if muscle soreness lasts several days before getting better, it’s time to rethink parts of your training regimen.
What to Do If You’re Sore Too Often
Give Yourself Enough Recovery Time
Muscles need time to heal. Make sure you’re giving each muscle group at least 48 hours before hitting them hard again. If you’re sore every single day, try adding in more rest or active recovery days.
Too Much, Too Soon?
If you just started a new workout plan or increased intensity too fast, your body might be struggling to keep up. Try scaling back a little and gradually increasing intensity to avoid burnout. Trust me on this one, especially if you want to avoid injury!
Eat Enough Protein
Protein helps rebuild muscle tissue, so make sure you’re getting enough, especially post-workout. Aim for lean protein sources like chicken, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, or plant-based options like beans and tofu. I highly recommend animal-based proteins for recovery because they have all of the essential amino acids that your body needs to rebuild, whereas most plant proteins do not.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration can make soreness worse, especially when you lose vitamins and minerals from sweating. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially before and after workouts. Electrolytes (like potassium and magnesium) can also help with muscle recovery. If you’re cramping a lot, definitely try adding in those two minerals!
Don’t Forget Stretching & Cooling Down
A good cool down and stretching session can help reduce soreness and tightness. Foam rolling and mobility work can also help keep muscles loose and improve recovery. More on that in a minute!
Get More Sleep
Your muscles repair while you sleep! Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to give your body the best chance to recover. If you aren’t getting good sleep, your body will start the day in a stressed state and will have a lessened ability to recover easily and quickly.
Okie doke – now that we’ve covered that, let’s talk about the best home remedies for sore muscles. 🙂
5 Best Home Remedies for Sore Muscles
1. Heat Therapy
Heating up your sore muscles is a great way to improve muscle soreness because it increases circulation to the area. (More blood + oxygen!) This can ultimately help relax your muscles and let them recover faster.
My favorite way to heat up my muscles is a hot bath. Make it as warm as you can tolerate. This way, all of the veins, arteries, and blood vessels in your body dilate (called vasodilation) and your circulation improves. This delivers much-needed nutrients to the muscles faster and helps to lower your blood pressure. In fact, it’s been studied and is thought to lower your risk for heart attacks and strokes.
If a hot bath isn’t an option, a hot shower is a close second, and a heating pad can also work some heat therapy magic. If you have access to a sauna, even better!
2. Cold Therapy
If you’ve ever slapped an ice pack on a swollen ankle or used a bag of frozen peas on a bruise, you’ve already used cold therapy! But did you know that the same trick can help sore muscles recover after a tough workout?
Cold temperatures help slow down blood flow to sore areas, which can reduce swelling and inflammation. This means less stiffness and discomfort after your workout. Cold therapy also has a natural numbing effect, helping to dull that deep, achy feeling in your muscles. Think of it like a temporary “off switch” for soreness.
The key is to use cold therapy within the first 24-48 hours after an intense workout to get the best benefits. Here are a few easy ways to do it:
- Ice packs: Use an ice pack for several minutes at a time on the affected area. Don’t have an ice pack? Grab a bag of peas from the freezer! They mold around your muscles better than a solid ice pack.
- Cold compresses: Soak a washcloth in ice water, wring it out, and apply it to sore areas. Refresh it in the ice water as needed.
- Cold showers or ice baths: If your whole body is sore, try a cold shower or even an ice bath (if you’re feeling brave!). A few minutes in cold water can help reduce overall muscle soreness.
Cold therapy is a simple, effective way to ease muscle soreness and help your body recover faster. Just remember—stick to short, controlled bursts of cold (no more than 15-20 minutes at a time).
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3. Epsom Salt Baths
After a tough workout, sinking into a warm Epsom salt bath can feel be a great way to relax. But there’s actually some science behind salt baths and muscle recovery!
Epsom salt (which is actually a mineral compound called magnesium sulfate) has long been used to help muscles recover, thanks to its high magnesium content. Magnesium plays a key role in muscle function and recovery by helping to reduce inflammation, ease tension, and support overall muscle repair. When dissolved in warm water, Epsom salt is believed to be absorbed through the skin, delivering those muscle-loving benefits right where you need them.
Preparing an Epsom salt bath is super simple. Just fill your bathtub with warm water (not too hot!) and add about 2 cups of Epsom salt. Stir it around to help it dissolve, then soak for 15-20 minutes. If you really want to level up the experience, you can add a few drops of essential oils like lavender for extra relaxation.
I personally think that adding Epsom salt to your bath is a double-whammy when it comes to muscle recovery. Not only do you get the benefits of the hot bath dilating your blood vessels, but you also get the magnesium to help the muscles relax even more. 🙂
4. Massage and Foam Rolling
Massage helps speed up recovery by increasing circulation, which brings fresh oxygen and nutrients to tired muscles while flushing out waste products like lactic acid. It also helps release built-up tension, breaking up tight spots that can lead to stiffness and discomfort.
Foam rolling is like giving yourself a mini massage, but with a little more control. This technique, called myofascial release, targets the fascia—the connective tissue that surrounds your muscles. Over time, fascia can get tight and knotted, which contributes to muscle soreness and reduced mobility. Rolling over sore or tight areas helps break up adhesions, improve flexibility, and boost blood flow, leading to faster recovery and better movement.
If you don’t have a foam roller handy, self-massage tools can do the trick! Massage guns offer deep, targeted pressure to help loosen stubborn knots, while a tennis ball can work wonders on smaller areas like your glutes, calves, or shoulders. (I personally prefer these hard foam baseballs.)
To use a tennis ball for self-massage, place it under the sore spot and gently roll your body over it, pausing on any particularly tight areas. Whether you’re rolling, kneading, or pressing, incorporating some form of massage into your recovery routine can make a huge difference in how quickly your muscles bounce back.
5. Herbal Remedies
Herbal remedies have been used for centuries to help reduce inflammation and speed up recovery. One of the most popular is arnica, a herb often found in creams and gels that helps reduce bruising, swelling, and muscle soreness when applied to the skin.
Turmeric is another powerhouse—thanks to its active compound, curcumin, it’s a natural anti-inflammatory that can help ease post-workout stiffness. Ginger works similarly, reducing muscle pain and promoting circulation, making it a great addition to your recovery routine.
Other helpful herbs include boswellia (also known as Indian frankincense), ashwagandha, and cayenne pepper, all of which have natural pain-relieving properties.
Beyond supplements and topical treatments, you can fight inflammation from the inside out by eating the right foods. Anti-inflammatory foods like berries, leafy greens, salmon, walnuts, and olive oil can help calm muscle soreness and speed up healing.
Adding some of these to smoothies, teas, or meals is an easy (and tasty) way to give your body extra support. On the flip side, try to limit processed foods, sugar, and excess alcohol, which can contribute to more inflammation and slow recovery.
Final Thoughts on These Home Remedies for Sore Muscles
Now you have plenty of things to try the next time you’re experiencing sore muscles. I know it can be exciting to run with a bout of motivation and get really serious about your training, but make sure that you’re not injuring yourself and getting plenty of rest! If you’re not careful, overtraining can have a serious backfiring effect and create bigger problems.
Remember to stay hydrated, stretch, and take it easy when you think you might be overdoing it!
Until next time,
Chantal from Ironwild Fitness
