Dehydration Does Not Affect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness After Muscle Damage

Authors

Christian J. Hoebelheinrich, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Casey AppellFollow
Hui-Ying Luk, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Trinity N. Domonkos, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Sarah Walper, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Karina Olvera, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Seth Bernardino, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Amar Vaela, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Jalyn Dunlap, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
Larry Munger, Texas Tech University Health Sciences CenterFollow

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Muscle-damaging exercise initiates an inflammatory cascade that contributes to the development of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which typically resolves within 24 to 72h. Although dehydration is common among active young adults and has been associated with greater severity of exercise-induced muscle damage, its role in modulating the resolution of soreness (indicative of inflammatory response) during recovery remains unclear. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of fluid restriction during 72hr recovery period on DOMS following exercise-induced muscle damaging exercise in young active adults. METHODS: Active men (n=6,  20±3yr, 173.6±8.1cm, 78.9±12.2kg) and women (n=2, 20±1yr, 162.6±3.6cm, 69.9±3.1kg) completed two identical bouts of unilateral maximal eccentric knee-extension exercises (ECC; 10 × 30reps) and followed by a 72hr recovery period under either euhydrated or dehydrated conditions. These two conditions were randomized and counterbalanced with 28-d apart.  Participants completed either 72hr euhydration (EUH) or 72hr DEH (24 h no fluid + 1.5 L/day for 48hr. A 4-day hydration baseline was implemented before each condition. To control nutritional intake, participants were instructed to consume preplan diets focused on food with low moisture contents during the hydration baseline, and the 72hr recovery period for both conditions. DOMS was assessed via visual analog scale (VAS) at PRE, immediately (IP), 1hr, 24hr, 48hr, and 72hr post ECC. A two-way repeated ANOVA was used to analyze DOMS. RESULTS: A significant (p < 0.05) main effect of time was observed. DOMS increased from PRE (0.1 ± 0.2) to IP (5.1 ± 3.2, p=<.001), 1hr (4.3 ± 3.1, p=.001), 24hr (5.0 ± 2.7, p=<.001), 48hr (4.7 ± 2.2 p=<0.001), 72hr (3.2 ± 2.1, p=.003). DOMS was lower at 72hr than IP (p=.024), 1hr (p=.041), 24hr (p=.010), and 48hr (p=<.001). No effect was observed between EUH and DEH conditions. No differences were observed between EUH and DEH. CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis, DOMS did not differ between hydration conditions following muscle-damaging exercise, peaking at 48 h and remaining above baseline at 72 h. These findings suggest that subjective muscle soreness is not altered by hydration status.

Recommended Citation

Hoebelheinrich, Christian J.; Appell, Casey; Luk, Hui-Ying; Domonkos, Trinity N.; Walper, Sarah; Olvera, Karina; Bernardino, Seth; Vaela, Amar; Dunlap, Jalyn; and Munger, Larry (2026) "Dehydration Does Not Affect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness After Muscle Damage," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 18, Article 151.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/151