Ways to alleviate muscle soreness without drugs?

Hi all!

Once again looking to the infinite wisdom and experience of the TE ladies for help!

The question this time is easy: what are some good ways to alleviate muscle pain and soreness without drugs? My PT folk are working me hard and my VMOs (inside thigh muscles) are killing me. I thought some stretching and a nice soak in the tub might help, but still painful. I'm trying to avoid NSAIDs because they hurt my stomach (also read somewhere they are bad for you if you are trying to develop muscle - that low levels of inflammation/pain encourage the body to get stronger. true?).

Any other good suggestions? The stretching I did was whole body - not just the adductors (power yoga!). I want to do my best at PT tomorrow and Friday and I'm hoping if I can lessen the pain then it won't be so bad (they've got me with an athlete-specific guy now).

Thanks in advance!

Compression garments for a few hours immediately after the workout (drugstore brand compression hose work fine for me and they're a lot less expensive than schmancy triathlon brands or medical supply brands) ... topical arnica or Traumeel gel ... very light movement such as walking or easy cycling to circulate the blood ... gentle self massage to circulate the blood.

Still, IMVH and nonexpert O, delayed onset muscle soreness that lasts more than two or three days and/or limits activities is a sign of excessive muscle damage. Let the PT know how sore you are and perhaps ease up a bit on the resistance, and increase it a little more slowly.

I am a big fan of The Stick. It has helped me tremendously with muscle recovery and soreness.
That and taking epsom salt baths.

+1 on topical arnica

Arnica pellets, too, if you're open to homeopathy.

A nice massage should help ;)

All of the suggestions above are great. You can also get chinese herbs that help with delayed onset muscle soreness. You would get them from an acupuncturists. Acupuncture helps too, BTW.

The best bang for your buck is light movement as mentioned above. Very light gentle yoga, walking and spinning with little to no resistance are great options.

Good food helps recovery. Compelx carbs and plenty of protein.
Also, the pain decreases with time and you'll get used to the exercises (if you don't change them constantly like crossfitters do).