In the stretching process, more blood is transferred to your muscles and a greater amount of the joints natural lubrication fluid is released. This improves the range of motion as well as the ease of movement of the joints, making you less prone to soreness and injury. Although all of these medications are quite useful, aspirin or ibuprofen may be the most effective for exercise soreness, says Patricia Love, M.D., a rheumatologist with the Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Prostaglandin is released by the cells when they are stressed or injured and is believed to play an important role in causing the pain associated with exercise soreness. However, there is a down side to aspirin or ibuprofen.
Prostaglandin helps protect the stomach lining from the acidic digestive juices.
If you have a history of stomach disorders, talk to your doctor about all this. Finally, balms and ointments are heavily advertised as treatments for minor muscle sourness, but they are not too effective. They do not penetrate deeply enough to increase muscle temperature and blood flow.