Muscle Soreness and Injury

Muscle soreness after exercise usually shows up the day after. A dull ache, or minor pain is no reason to stop exercising but go easy for a day or so. Pay attention to your body and stop pushing too hard. Gentle stretching and message can help reduce stiffness. If you are still in pain after 72 hours, see your doctor.

Muscle cramps can go from mild to an agonizing stabbing pain. What’s happening is your muscle is locked up and won’t release. It’s caused by fatigue, dehydration or a chemical imbalance. If you get a cramp while exercising, slow down until the pain goes away. It usually will in a couple of minutes. Stretching and rubbing the muscle will help.

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Muscle strains and pulls range from mild over stretching to an actual tear. You might get a twinge during exercise, other times the pain is a burning and tearing pain. If it’s a twinge go easy and see if the pain disappears, If it’s a tearing pain, stop immediately and treat the pain with an ice pack. Wrap a bandage snugly around the area and elevate 8 or 10 inches on a cushion.

Foot:  Pain directly over one of the bones in the foot accompanied with light swelling and pain that increases during exercise, or when standing is probably a stress fracture. You should stop activity and see a doctor.  To prevent this problem, wear shoes with good cushioning and run on softer surfaces such as grass or an inside track.

Foot: Pain and tenderness that begins in the heel and radiates to the middle of the foot is probably planter fasciitis, an iinflammation of the connective tissue that runs from the heel to the base of the toes. Treat it with over the counter pain medication, an ice pack, and rest. If it doesn’t improve in a couple of days, see your doctor. To prevent the problem, wear good shoes with an arch support and cushioning. Keep fascia flexible and strong by scrunching up a towel with toes.

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Ankle: If you have pain and swelling on the ankle with bruising, it’s an ankle sprain, a stretching and tearing of ankle ligaments. Use an ice pack with a snug bandage and elevate your foot several inches on a cushion. To prevent a sprain, do this exercise. Wrap a towel around the foot and extend your ankle as you pull back on the towel to provide resistance. Wear high topped shoes to protect previously injured ankle.

Lower Leg: If you have burning pain on the back of the leg near the heel that may be accompanied by swelling and redness, it’s probably achilles tendinitis, an nflammation in the tendon that connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. Treat it with rest, ice, and over the counter pain medication. Stretch the tendon lightly when pain is gone by standing 18 inches away from the wall and leaning into the wall while feet are flat on the floor. Place heel lift in your shoes to decrease stretch of achilles and prevent reinjury. For prevention wear shoes with good heel support and cushioning. Stretch regularly. Run on soft surfaces.

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Knee: A deep ache or pain under the knee with pain increasing during activity, bending or straightening knee or when direct pressure is applied, that also may swell and grind is runners knee. That’s wearing away of the back side of the kneecap and the cartilage that cushions it. Treat it by resting until the pain goes away, which may be several weeks. Use over the counter pain medication and if pain and grinding persists, see your doctor. To prevent, strengthen the quadriceps to better support the knee by doing leg extensions. Stretch quadriceps and hamstrings. Wear well cushioned shoes. Have running stride analyzed to correct biomechanical flaws.

We will continue in the next article.

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