Lactic Acid Scapegoat?

Nearly every athlete knows that the muscle soreness from their workouts is caused by lactic acid buildup. This is in fact true. However, the lactic acid disapears from the cells less than 3 hours later. Then why are we sore DAYS after strenous excersizes? The real culprit of the pain are tiny microscopic tears in the muscle. You can't help these, only your own cells can. So they swell like bruises and take days to heal causing the muscle pain we all know.