Sore Leg muscles!

The Best Cure for Sore Leg Muscles!

Should you rest or should you train sore leg muscles?

It depends on 

muscle soreness.

Here is how to heal... 

Running and Sore legs

• Rest for a day and the next day walk for exercise.
• Try not to sit for too long...and if it hurts to get up off a chair - do some gentle stretches! This is good to get the blood moving in the area. If you haveto sit for a long time stretch your legs every half-hour and get up and move around.
• Do a gentle message on the area with some deep rub sports cream. This also gets the blood moving in the area, make sure that it is gentle message.
• Ice or take a cool bath this helps stop the build up of lactic acid that is causing some of the pain. Doing this also prevents swelling.
• Use over the counter painkillers like Ibuprofen.
•  Some people say to do the same activity a couple days later. If you are feeling too stiff, sore with pain, you should take a few more days off. To keep your running program consistent don't spread your days too far apart or you will have the same leg muscle soreness come back.
• Finally, if the pain is really bad and you think you may have injured yourself, visit your doctor.

Reasons for Sore Legs

• starting a running program
• overdoing a new activity
• medical condition

These are all reasons you have sore muscles.

• If you have sore leg muscles because of an underlining medical condition like fibromyalgia or arthritis then I would suggest getting help from your Doctor and physical therapist. They will be able to suggest a program to help lesson the pain and symptoms.
• If you are in pain because of an injury like shin splints or a stress fracture, it's best to talk to your Doctor and a sport medicine Doctor!  They will help address the injury and do what is needed for quick and easy healing.
• If you have exerted yourself too much and get sore legs from doing a physical activity  like running or an other sport it's good to take a day or two off and try to go back to training gradually. Although, if your legs are so sore that it feels so uncomfortable and it's hard to get around, you should take a week off.
• If you find the pain worsening or is not getting better, consult a physician. Note, a lot of muscle exertion can leave your muscles feeling so painful to the point  where you will have difficulty walking, getting up from sitting or using the stairs...

It is time to take a break for a few days until your intense pain is gone.
Having sore leg muscles is no fun, but if you look at it as positive, than you can be rest assured that you are doing good for your body.

What should you do?

Always give yourself 24 to 48 hours of rest after any activity especially if it has caused by some muscle soreness. Your muscles will thank you and you will start healing and building more muscles effectively.

Sore leg muscles in the beginning of an exercise program are a natural change. Usually the pain starts about 24 to 48 hours after you've exercised. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness.  

My legs will feel sore and tight in the calves or thighs when I start something new and it is difficult sometimes to get around. I know that it only last a few days and things will feel good again. Usually I'll go for a gentle walk or run to feel better. 

I'm left lying on the ground...looking up at the sky...

If you were an active person before you started a running program, you may not feel as stiff and sore the next day.

If you are a beginner to a new sport and you used new muscles, you could feel mild to extreme muscle soreness. When you haven't used muscles actively in a long time, you will feel aches, pain, stiffness and tenderness, and even when you touch your leg muscles it hurts! Walking around may help them feel better, but getting up from a sitting position can again be VERY painful!

Don't worry and just relax and read why...

Why?

As your muscles lengthen little tiny tears develop in the muscle fiber while you are strengthening. These tears can produce sore leg muscles that can last up to a week or more! Your muscles are going through a healing process; you treat your pain and healing just like any other healing. As your muscles go through this process they first break down and then build up again, so it is very important to take this break! After doing your workout sessions for a couple weeks or more your muscles will adapt to the change.

Thank goodness...

A Good Preventative

1. Start an exercise program gradually, in the smallest of increments so that your muscles can adapt better.
2. Do a walking warm up, gentle running on the spot or gentle jumping jacks for 5 minutes to introduce your muscles to exercise.
3. Stretch gently in the middle of your exercise program.
4. Follow a program introduced by a professional and stay with it.

Conclusion

As soon as your body becomes accustom to the activity the pain will fade away. This is a good sign that you are building muscle. Building muscle is what you want, so that you become a more efficient in your exercise program!

If you want add more to your running program you should check this out.

Runner'sYoga.com This is a great program to take away the confusion of how to stretch and build your core strength!
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Have you ever had a twinge of pain on the front side of you shin?

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Please let me know what you think in the comments section.