Leg pain after running

There are several topics that are being discussed with increased activity on various running forums: the best running shoes, the most accurate GPS watches, and does kinesio tape really work? Professionals and amateurs can defend their point of view until they are hoarse and challenge the arguments of others. But when discussing the reasons for leaving the race, everyone unanimously agrees that it is pain in the lower leg area.

Research shows that 60% of the causes of lower leg pain, as well as up to 15% of the causes of sports injuries, lie in the diagnosis of MTSS.

MTSS

(medial tibial stress syndrome) - stress syndrome of the medial surface of the tibia, in our country it is more often called inflammation of the periosteum, is one of the common causes of pain in the lower extremities. More often, pain is diagnosed in the lower two thirds of the leg. Occurs in people during aerobic exercise - 22%, while running - 17%, in tall adolescents - 13%. This syndrome is also typical for athletes, skiers, speed skaters, figure skaters, gymnasts, and football players.

Pain occurs during sports competitions (especially with inappropriately heavy loads), when exercising indoors on a hard surface, when making sharp turns or changing the vector of movement (pronation), when walking on an uneven surface, uphill/downhill. The pain intensifies with increasing load and decreases with rest, until it disappears completely, although in some cases the pain may persist for a long time.

Externally, the pain may be accompanied by swelling of the legs and local redness. If continued physical activity and improperly worn footwear, the condition can lead to a typical stress fracture - the accumulation of tiny cracks in the bones of the legs that appear from excessive repetitive stress - writes Jordan Murt, an Australian sports physician, author of Running Strong and published in his book in Russia, the book “Directory of General Practitioners”.

Dr. Jordan D. Metzl is a nationally recognized sports medicine physician practicing at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, the premier hospital for orthopedics in the United States. More than 20,000 athletes and patients of all ages passed through his hands and rose to their feet. Dr. Jordan Murt teaches and lectures to students. In addition, he is a runner and triathlete, author of best-selling books about medicine and sports, and a fitness instructor. Having fought through a devastating injury himself and gotten back on his feet, he has dedicated his life to teaching other runners technique and strength training to prevent sports injuries.

Inflammation of the periosteum is a broad concept that includes pain of various types and origins.

“Some people feel pain only in the muscles, others in the lower leg, some report pain in the knee,” explains Mike Young, athletic trainer and founder of the Athletic Lab, Ph.D., educator, author of numerous publications, and researcher in the fields of kinesiology and biomechanics. and sports psychology.

Causes

First of all, you need to find out what causes the pain in your legs after running. The causes may be pathological or mechanical in nature.

Among the pathological causes are the following:

Microdamage to the leg muscles. If the load is 10% or more higher than your usual, the integrity of microfibrils - components of striated muscle cells that are involved in muscle contraction - is disrupted. As a result of these micro-tears in the muscles, an inflammatory process is triggered, accompanied by swelling and an increase in local temperature. It is this that causes pain in the muscles.

Expert opinion

It is widely believed that the cause of sore calves, shins, front and back thighs and gluteal muscles after running is lactic acid (lactate). However, in the 1980s, studies were conducted that disproved this theory. Today it is believed that most of the lactic acid produced during the breakdown of glucose is eliminated by the body during exercise, and the remaining amount of lactate is insignificant and cannot cause muscle pain. To correct this condition after training, you can take Stimol, it will relieve you of these sensations.

Vascular surgeon, phlebologist

Osipova Ekaterina Yakovlevna

Problems with blood circulation. If a runner suffers from varicose veins, thrombosis, phlebitis and other vascular pathologies, shock loads are strictly contraindicated for him. High speed, jogging over rough terrain or too hard a surface - all this provokes additional stress on the valve apparatus of the veins of the lower extremities and impairs blood flow. As a result, the athlete may experience pain in the leg muscles after running, swelling, a feeling of pulsation and fullness in the legs.
Diseases of the knees (meniscus, arthritis, arthrosis, bursitis of the knee joint). In the sports community, these diseases are often referred to collectively as “runner's knee.” All of them are accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the area of the kneecap that occur when performing loads - running, jumping, and in some cases - even when walking.

Why your legs hurt after running: reasons

Splint (inflammation of the periosteum). This pathology causes discomfort in the lower leg: it can be a dull and aching pain at rest, accompanied by a sensation of pulsation, or a sharp pain that usually appears while running on a hard surface.
Plantar and plantar fasciitis. These pathologies usually develop as a result of previous microtraumas of the plantar fascia. They are characterized by unpleasant sensations in the heel, arch of the foot, and, less commonly, ankles, which occur during running and walking (especially immediately after waking up).
Achilles tendon diseases. One of the most common pathologies associated with the Achilles tendon is Achilles tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon tissue caused by frequent microtrauma).
Bursitis of the hip joint. If you experience pain in the groin area or on the outside of your thigh during or after running, hip bursitis may be the cause. With this disease, an inflammatory process is observed in the synovial joint capsule, accompanied by the formation of exudate, which leads to decreased shock absorption and increased friction of joint tissue.

If the pain is caused by a pathological process, be sure to consult a doctor. Until the examination and diagnosis is made, refrain from sports activities.

Technical reasons why your legs tingle after running could be:

Insufficient training combined with shock load. If you are a beginner runner, you should not immediately take on an increased load.
No warm-up before training and no cool-down at the end of the session. Warming up allows the muscles to warm up, it improves blood circulation in the legs and helps avoid injury. Cooling down also reduces the risk of developing delayed muscle pain syndrome (soreness), which occurs within 2-3 days after training.
Incorrect running technique. The running technique depends on the speed, length of the distance, the nature of the terrain and the hardness of the surface. Before you start jogging, evaluate these characteristics and choose the appropriate technique for performing the load.

You need to choose the right running shoes

Exercising in inappropriate shoes. Many novice runners choose any sports shoes for training, be it sneakers with thin soles or even sports ballet shoes. It is strictly not recommended to do this. Running shoes must meet certain criteria: have a shock-absorbing sole, reliable support for the foot, and a breathable upper surface. Compliance with these requirements when choosing running shoes will help you avoid severe pain in your feet after running.
Running on unsuitable surfaces. Most recreational runners train on asphalt paths in parks, on paved sidewalks, and some even run on concrete. However, all these surfaces are not suitable for running: they are too hard, which increases the stress on the joints. The optimal solution for jogging would be dirt tracks, grass, so-called cinder tracks, rubberized stadium surfaces, and a treadmill. If you are lucky enough to live by the sea or a river, you can run on a sandy beach: soft sand provides good shock absorption and it is more difficult to get injured on it than on asphalt.

If you run on sand or rough terrain (for example, in a forest), start with short distances and low speeds.

Many beginners put too much stress on their muscles by moving on relatively unstable surfaces consisting of sand and loose forest soil, causing their shins to ache after running.

What to do if pain occurs

Of course, you can’t run with pain, but many people do. If the pain does not go away, but there are no pronounced restrictions, then the universal algorithm of actions is as follows:

take a break
apply cold for swelling
use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
reduce the impact on the feet - eliminate shock loads, uncomfortable shoes, etc.
If there is no improvement within a week, go to the doctor.

– Do not treat yourself or try to determine the cause of the pain. First of all, it's easy to make mistakes. For example, a ruptured Achilles tendon can easily be confused with an ankle ligament injury. And if the second is in 95% of cases a simple injury, often healing on its own and almost always without major consequences, then a rupture of the Achilles tendon is a serious diagnosis, and the matter most often ends in surgery.

Secondly, often the doctor’s skills are not enough to accurately determine the problem, and additional research methods have to be used, and not always MRI. Preferably CT, or ultrasound, or radiography.

Thirdly, this is an excellent opportunity to identify possible dysfunctions in the function of joints, muscles and ligaments that you might not have even guessed about. Flat feet, consequences of childhood injuries, various hypertension, and so on.

Fourthly, by doing everything yourself, you will almost certainly lose your most valuable resource - time,” warns Dr. Maysigov.

If your feet hurt, you will most likely consult an orthopedic traumatologist - this will be a reasonable and correct choice. But in some cases you will have to communicate with other specialists.

– With a podologist for nail pathologies, a phlebologist if it is necessary to assess peripheral blood flow, with a physiotherapist when prescribing complex rehabilitation treatment. Often an endocrinologist, dermatologist, or neurologist has to get involved,” the doctor adds.

Treatment of foot injuries in runners falls within the general framework of treatment of such injuries in ordinary patients. For fractures, a plaster cast is applied; if necessary, surgery is used. When tendons or ligaments become inflamed, anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy are used.

If pain appears, it is necessary to stop exercising, and after recovery, be sure to undergo rehabilitation

How to recover your legs after running?

If you return from training and realize that your leg muscles are sore and “burning” after running, there are several ways to reduce the discomfort:

Take a bath for 15-20 minutes. You can add sea salt, herbal infusions, a few drops of essential oils, and Epsom salt (magnesium salt) to the water. Warm water helps your leg muscles relax and speeds up their recovery process.
Take a contrast shower. Start with warm water, gradually lowering its temperature. At the end, pour cold water over your feet and rub them with a towel until slightly red.

Relaxing your legs after running: massage

Get a massage. If you have a special massage roller or ball, use them; if not, gently massage your calves, feet and toes with your hands. Good results are achieved by using special applicator mats. Massage helps muscles and myofascia relax, improves blood flow and minimizes the discomfort that occurs after a run. After the massage, apply Normaven® Foot Cream to the lower extremities. Thanks to the presence of plant extracts and oils, vitamins, menthol and panthenol, the product helps reduce the feeling of heaviness and fatigue, prevents the appearance of swelling and cramps, and also reduces the severity and improves the condition of the vascular pattern.
Lie down with your legs on the back of the sofa or on the wall. The feet should be higher than the level of the heart: this improves blood circulation and helps get rid of pain in the legs after running (especially if the discomfort is caused by varicose veins and other vascular problems).
If possible, try to sleep more. During sleep, the body recovers faster than during wakefulness. It is optimal to go to bed at 22.00, sleep duration is at least 7 hours.
Eat right. Since pain in the legs after running is most often caused by microdamage to the muscles, it is important to give them material for a speedy recovery - we are talking about protein foods.
Maintain drinking regime. During intense and prolonged training, dehydration occurs, so you need to replenish fluid loss. In addition, the body loses electrolytes along with liquid, so it is recommended to drink mineral water, such as magnesium water.

Expert opinion

If after a run you feel very tired and sore in your leg muscles, do not under any circumstances try to overcome it and go jogging again the next day. The thesis that there is no result without pain is fundamentally wrong: blindly following this postulate can lead to more serious consequences, even injury.

Vascular surgeon, phlebologist

Osipova Ekaterina Yakovlevna

It is important to maintain proper drinking regime when running

Anatomical features of the foot

If we compare the foot with a thigh or lower leg, it will seem small and simple to us. Understanding such a small mechanism should be incredibly simple. In fact, it's the other way around.

The foot bears the load of the entire body every day: walking, running, jumping, and normal standing.

The complex structure of the foot helps to cope with them. It is rightly called “an engineering miracle of nature”: 26 bones, 31 joints, more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Therefore, if after running your foot hurts on the outside, along the medial edge or in the sole area, there can be a huge number of reasons.

We will try to highlight the most common ones.

Preventing leg pain after running

If you are just starting to exercise, give your legs time to adjust to the new type of stress.
Be sure to warm up and cool down your leg muscles.
Wear suitable running shoes.
Follow your running technique.
If you have varicose veins on your legs, use compression stockings and avoid wearing leggings, sweatpants, or socks with tight elastic bands that are too tight.
If you have extra pounds, start training with walking - 10,000 steps a day as excellent lymphatic drainage and the best physical activity; As you lose weight, you can switch to easy running.

Remember: running, selected taking into account the level of fitness and health, can be beneficial both for the legs and for the general well-being of a person, because during sports, endorphins are produced - hormones of happiness and pleasure.

Sources:

Akhmetyanova Z. I., Krylov V. M. Running. Types and benefits. // Bulletin of science and education. – 2021. – No. 19 (97). – Part 2. – P. 92-95.
Grishan M. A. Functional features of the blood system under conditions of regular muscle loads. // Medical and pharmaceutical journal “Pulse”. – 2021. – T. 20. – No. 12. – P. 74-77.
Ryzhov A. S. Prevention of injuries in physical education and sports classes. // Science-2020. – 2021. – P. 58/148-67/148.
Tyupa V.V., Mikhailova O.D., Mnukhina O.N., Arakelyan E.E. Biomechanics of fatigue in running. // Theory and practice of physical culture. – 2010. – P. 66-72
Serobabina E. A., Potapchuk A. A. Bioinformational approach to the development of endurance in humans. // Scientific and technical bulletin of information technologies, mechanics and optics. – 2007. – P. 213-218.

For an accurate diagnosis, contact a specialist.