Author Topic: Sore legs.  (Read 1499 times)

martin71

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Sore legs.
« on: 13:58:42, 17/09/19 »
Completed Ben Nevis for first time at weekend and my legs are suffering big time, only for last 15mins or so of the descent did I struggle, and that was only slightly. Took rest, massage, ice pack etc but muscle feels as tight as can be. Any advice?

gunwharfman

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #1 on: 17:09:38, 17/09/19 »
Rest, put your feet up higher than your body, wiggle toes, stretch feet back and forth, have a glass of wine, get up, walk around, repeat, rest and then have another glass of wine. I still get aching legs, I don't know if my ache problem is the same as yours, but mine always happen during the night. After a hard days hiking my legs, or just one of them, will often 'lock' into muscle cramps. When it happens I know that I have to get out of my tent pronto, it's just too painful to just lie there! I clumsily crawl out of my tent on my hands and knees and obviously, the grass is usually wet and cold, not to my liking at all if its 3 o'clock in the morning! My third problem, once outside, is then to stand up, not easy to do sometimes, I often feel like a rusty hinge! My legs ache mostly when I'm hiking long downhill stretches and I also get what I call 'the trembles' my front upper leg thigh muscles often keep trembling involuntarily but the sensation, once I stop, wears off fairly quickly.


Slowcoach

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #2 on: 17:23:35, 17/09/19 »
I suggest a combination of rest and exercise, both in moderation
It's all uphill from here.

martin71

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #3 on: 18:12:56, 17/09/19 »
Thanks, night with feet up it’ll be

BrionyB

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #4 on: 18:47:15, 17/09/19 »
If it's delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), I honestly find nothing makes much difference and all you can do is wait a few days for it to go away. I get it every time I go back to the gym after a break or do any exercise I'm not used to. Apparently some people are just genetically more prone to it than others - and the only prevention seems to be doing whatever exercise it is more frequently.


Hope you feel better soon, and the walk was worth the soreness afterwards!



 

fit old bird

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #5 on: 19:19:51, 17/09/19 »
I usually get hurty legs on about day 3 or 4 of a long walk. Usually the fronts of my thighs. I have been almost immobile when I get to a B & B, collapsing on the bed and hardly able to move till the morning. By day 5 or 6 the pain has gone. I have just done a day on the Yorkshire coastal path and today my legs ache, but they will be alright tomorrow. Rest day today and tomorrow and more walking on Thursday.
ilona

BuzyG

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #6 on: 23:32:12, 17/09/19 »
I was really not very walk fit when I climbed up The Ben via CMD a few years back.  I barely moved the next day.  The corner shop in spean bridge was about as far as I went.  The next day was much better. Drove up to Skye and had a very enjoyable walk in the shadow of the Black Culins past the fairy pools.  After that I was fine.

richardh1905

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #7 on: 08:40:04, 18/09/19 »
Completed Ben Nevis for first time at weekend and my legs are suffering big time, only for last 15mins or so of the descent did I struggle, and that was only slightly. Took rest, massage, ice pack etc but muscle feels as tight as can be. Any advice?


Light exercise, and time. I felt exactly the same when I climbed the Ben last year - could hardly climb the steps in Nevisport the next day!
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

martin71

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #8 on: 09:39:32, 18/09/19 »

Light exercise, and time. I felt exactly the same when I climbed the Ben last year - could hardly climb the steps in Nevisport the next day!


I walk a fair bit during my work, legs starting to feel better today. Won’t put me off climbing it again mind you

Dread

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #9 on: 09:49:28, 18/09/19 »
If it is muscle tiredness then warmth is better than ice. That will relax the muscles. Use ice if there is damage to avoid swelling.

ninthace

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #10 on: 10:44:48, 18/09/19 »

I walk a fair bit during my work, legs starting to feel better today. Won’t put me off climbing it again mind you
At my time of life, if I let post walk aches and pains put me off, I would never get out.
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richardh1905

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #11 on: 11:11:31, 18/09/19 »
Know the feeling!
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WhitstableDave

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #12 on: 12:18:54, 18/09/19 »
Same here!

This is NOT advice - only what I've experienced and what works for me...  ;)

I've had periods lasting as much as several weeks when things haven't been right with my legs or feet. Most memorable was a couple of months when I'd get aches (cramps?) in my calves after around 6 miles. Strangely, this was usually in one leg or the other and rarely both at the same time. For a while I worried that it would get worse the further I walked, but it never did and often the ache would actually fade. The problem began fairly soon after a week in Snowdonia so I guess it might have been related.

I also went through a phase of shin pain (splints?), but ignoring it and carrying on had a similar effect. It didn't happen on every walk but it was concerning at the time and never more so than the time my wife dropped me off well over 20 miles from home when she was driving to a meeting in Dover. As soon as I set off back to Whitstable, my shins began to hurt and I wondered if I would make it, but after a few miles the pain faded a bit instead of getting worse.

So, it's NOT advice, but walking through it has worked for me (so far!).

Another thing that works for me is wearing different shoes or boots if my feet hurt. My reasoning is simple: if a toe is painful after a walk then it might have been caused by pressure when descending a particularly steep hill and the toe will get a rest if I wear different shoes the following day. I use a similar approach with blisters (which are thankfully very rare).
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Man wae a dug

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Re: Sore legs.
« Reply #13 on: 20:54:21, 18/09/19 »
If it's mainly your thighs that ache when it happens try doing a few squats every half hour or so, it always helped me when I used to get DOMS from the gym. 
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