If you’re a runner, chances are you’ve experienced the agony of muscle soreness in your legs. It can be so painful that it makes you want to give up on running entirely—but don’t! There are ways to relieve your pain and get back out on the trails as soon as possible.
Get some rest.
Getting some rest is the best way to treat soreness. If you have been working out hard, you may be tempted to work out again before your muscles are fully healed. This is a bad idea because you could cause more damage than good by training when your body needs time to recover. It’s also important not to strain yourself or overdo it when exercising. If you want to improve your muscle strength and endurance, try doing a lighter workout at first and then gradually increase intensity as your body becomes accustomed to it
Massage the affected area.
Massage the affected area with a massage stick or massager. You can find these at most drugstores, or you can use a tennis ball. If you don’t have one of these tools handy, try rubbing the affected area with your hands for 10 minutes at a time until the pain is gone.
Wear knee sleeves
You can also wear compression knee sleeves, which are small padded devices that go over your knees. These products are designed to help relieve muscle soreness and prevent injuries by stabilizing the knee joint, which may reduce pain. There are two main types of knee sleeves: elastic and neoprene. Elastic sleeves consist of an elastic material that covers the entire length and circumference of the leg, while neoprene sleeves only cover part of these areas. Neoprene is often more preferred as it provides more compression and support than elastic materials do due to its higher density and thickness (which also means they’re typically quite warm).
Try light exercise.
If you’re a little sore, try light exercise. Light exercise can help reduce muscle soreness and restore blood flow to your muscles. Before beginning any form of exercise, however, ensure that the area is warmed up appropriately with stretching activities. A warm-up is especially important if you’re doing high intensity workouts or weightlifting because it prepares your muscles for harder work and helps prevent injury.
If you feel ready to jump right into a more intense workout, keep in mind that overexerting yourself will lead only to greater muscle damage—and therefore more pain! Avoid heavy lifting at this point; instead opt for low resistance or lighter weights with many repetitions (a practice known as high repetition training). This will allow for gradual recovery without causing further damage to already-sore muscles.
If you’re experiencing muscle soreness in your legs, I hope that this post has given you some ideas on how to deal with it. It can be a real pain, but there are lots of things that you can do to keep the pain at bay or even prevent it from happening in the first place!
