<Tr> <Th> Specialty </Th> <Td> Sports medicine </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise . </P> <P> The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise . It is thought to be caused by eccentric (lengthening) exercise, which causes small - scale damage (microtrauma) to the muscle fibers . After such exercise, the muscle adapts rapidly to prevent muscle damage, and thereby soreness, if the exercise is repeated . </P>

Muscle soreness that appears one or two days after the injury