Lactic Acid

Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemical processes. It is mainly produced in muscle tissue and red blood cells. When the oxygen level in the body is normal, carbohydrate breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. When the oxygen level is low, carbohydrate breaks down for energy and makes lactic acid. Your body's oxygen level might drop during intense exercise or if you have an infection or disease.

Lactic acid levels get higher when strenuous exercise or other conditions-such as heart failure, a severe infection (sepsis), or shock-lower the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. Lactic acid levels can also get higher when the liver is severely damaged or diseased, because the liver normally breaks down lactic acid. Very high levels of lactic acid cause a serious, sometimes life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis.

During power exercises such as sprinting, when the rate of demand for energy is high, lactate is produced faster than the ability of the tissues to remove it and lactate concentration begins to rise. This is a beneficial process since it ensures that energy production is maintained and exercise can continue.

However, when the lactate levels get too high, a chemical reaction occurs with other chemicals in the body, creating lactic acid. Contrary to popular belief, this increased concentration of lactate does not directly leads to that burning feeling in your muscles, but rather it seems that it is the reaction that forms lactic acid that is the cause of the pain. But some scientists are still debating about the pain's source.