<P> The soreness is perceived as a dull, aching pain in the affected muscle, often combined with tenderness and stiffness . The pain is typically felt only when the muscle is stretched, contracted or put under pressure, not when it is at rest . This tenderness, a characteristic symptom of DOMS, is also referred to as "muscular mechanical hyperalgesia". </P> <P> Although there is variance among exercises and individuals, the soreness usually increases in intensity in the first 24 hours after exercise . It peaks from 24 to 72 hours, then subsides and disappears up to seven days after exercise . </P> <P> The soreness is caused by eccentric exercise, that is, exercise consisting of eccentric (lengthening) contractions of the muscle . Isometric (static) exercise causes much less soreness, and concentric (shortening) exercise causes none . </P> <P> The mechanism of delayed onset muscle soreness is not completely understood, but the pain is ultimately thought to be a result of microtrauma--mechanical damage at a very small scale--to the muscles being exercised . </P>

Which type of muscle contraction contributes most to the development of doms