Why do my calves hurt after or during running? There are several reasons. Let's try to figure out why the calves cramp when running?
During exercise, your legs are very tense. Because of this, the muscles do not receive the required amount of nutrients, and lactic acid accumulates in the tissues.
Running is not a strength sport. Even if you practice acceleration in certain sections of the distance, they should occupy no more than 30% of the distance covered during training, but optimally up to 10%.
the initiator of movement while running . Tighten your stomach. When you inhale, try to lift your body higher, as if you were being held under the arms by a belt device of a cable car. Relax your legs and move them as if they are suspended, like your arms. With the correct movements, you will feel as if your leg muscles are not being used.
If the route is rich in obstacles and unevenness , then leg strain cannot be avoided. It’s better to let your hips work more in this case.
You can make the source of movement . You learn this by watching a boxer in the ring. When an athlete hits, the movement comes from the hips. If the blows come one after another, then the pelvis begins to move, like the oars of a rower. Let your lower body work while you run. This technique will take the pressure off your calves.
To position your feet correctly, choose good sneakers. It is inconvenient to run without special clothing or headgear, but it is possible by replacing them with other things. However, your workout won't go far without running shoes. I talked about this in detail in the article “Running and Flat Feet.”
Uncomfortable shoes do not allow your feet to properly contact the surface of the treadmill, prevent you from correctly distributing the load between the muscles, and strain the Achilles tendon . This makes your calves tired.
Running shoes must have the following features:
If the shoes start to spread out to the sides, they are not suitable for running.
If you are running and are tired, you may want to stop or even sit down to rest and continue running to the finish line. This is not advisable for the following reasons:
Therefore, if you are tired, it is better to cover the rest of the distance on foot, but not take a break.
After jogging, you should also not take a stationary position. Move until your heart rate calms down and another 5-10 minutes have passed. Light walking or relaxation and stretching exercises will help you get your body in order.
If you are a girl and love high heels, then your calf muscles may be short. Putting on sneakers tightens your calves. Exercising becomes an unpleasant burden, because your calves hurt when running.
To stabilize the situation, perform exercises that stretch the calf muscles between running sessions. I recommend one of them.
The movements can be performed on the staircase of the entrance, but it is better to find a similar place in the fresh air. Stand on the second step of the stairs so that your heels hang down. Lower your right heel, trying to touch the first step. Stretch as you would after sleep. At the same time, the calf muscle lengthens. Return your leg to the starting position. Perform movements smoothly. Do the same with your left leg. Repeat everything 8-10 times.
An even better option is to replace running with a bicycle or exercise bike. This will help your legs properly distribute the load during your workout and stretch your calves. After 2-3 months of training, return to running.
Increased stress can also create pain in the calves. This is especially likely when climbing a hill or running on a sand path, which doubles the work of the calf muscles.
If you choose a hard track, for example, covered with asphalt, then not only your calves may hurt, but also your knee joints. Choose a route in a park or forest. A rubber track at a stadium or a treadmill will help unload the calf muscles, but do not put it in the “downhill” position.
If you decide to lose weight and start training, then you are on the right track. But at first, pain in the calves after running with increased body weight is a common occurrence. It can continue until you start losing calories and losing extra pounds.
Therefore, be patient and do not put too much stress during classes. It is better to practice walking for the first 2-3 weeks. Moreover, this can be done not only during training, but also at other times. When returning home from work or school, replace a trip on public transport with a walk.
When you exercise, you lose fluid. Therefore, after running you need to drink water, juice, compote or milk. This should be done in small sips using multiple approaches so as not to dramatically increase the blood volume. Lack of water in muscle cells will slow down their recovery after running. Proper nutrition is also very important.
If none of the reasons listed above are typical for you , then you need to go to your local doctor. He will refer you to a surgeon or ask you to undergo tests and x-rays. Perhaps you have some symptoms related to metabolism, joints, and spine. The doctor will give you recommendations for treatment and further physical activity.
If you've taken the steps you can to avoid calf pain and it still happens, then do the following after your workout:
It’s great if there is someone who can give you a light calves massage. This does not require special preparation: light kneading mixed with stroking in the direction of the heart will help restore muscles.
Calf muscle pain can be caused by a variety of health problems. Most often, the cause is vascular diseases, inflammation in the muscles (myositis), and excessive stress. Only a specialist can rule out serious leg diseases, but you can relieve the pain yourself.
Proper alternation of exercise and rest is important for leg health. If you have pain in the calf muscles, standing on your feet for too long is not recommended, as this leads to poor circulation. To improve blood flow, when lying down, you should raise your legs above the level of your heart. If the work is sedentary, you should place your feet on a small bench.
In the morning it is necessary to do a little exercise. Squats, leg swings, twists and leg lifts will improve blood circulation in the muscles. You can have a massage throughout the day. It is easy to massage sore muscles, trying not to hurt yourself. Movements should be light and neat.
Women are advised to avoid wearing stiletto heels. The height of the heel should not be more than 4 cm. You should put supportive insoles inside the shoes; they will remove up to 30% of the load from the muscles. To train your calf muscles, it is useful to wear sneakers.
Changing hot and cold water helps eliminate pain and relieve tired legs. First, you need to pour hot water on your feet (1 minute), then cold. Repeat at least 4-5 times. It is better to finish the procedure with cold water.
Massage with ice cubes has an excellent effect. They are laid out on a towel, wrapped and the calves are wiped for several minutes. After the procedure, the muscles are moistened with any cologne.
For pain in the leg muscles, you can use chestnut tincture. 50 g of crushed fruits are infused in 0.5 liters of vodka. After 3 weeks, the finished product can be used for treatment. To do this, soak a cotton ball in the tincture and wipe the sore areas with it.
Baths with medicinal herbs
Baths made from mint herbs and linden flowers relieve fatigue. Mix a handful of herbs and infuse in a liter of boiled water. The strained infusion is heated, poured into a deep basin with warm water, and the legs are lowered into it. The duration of the procedure is 15-20 minutes.
Recently, a very effective remedy for pain in the calves and varicose veins is the medical product Varifort, which eliminates pain and a feeling of heaviness in the legs, has no side effects on the body, has no contraindications, and can be used even during pregnancy. You can read more about this product here.
These recommendations will help improve blood circulation in the calf muscles, relieve fatigue and soothe pain.
What you need to know about leg muscles? Painful sensations in the leg muscles do not often force the patient to immediately seek medical advice. Discomfort is attributed to physical activity, simple fatigue and uncomfortable shoes. The cause of muscle pain is not always fatigue of the lower extremities. Often, even minor but regular discomfort can indicate an incipient serious illness. Some of the pathologies, which are characterized, among other things, by discomfort in the leg muscles, if not properly treated, can cause paralysis of the lower limbs or require urgent surgical intervention.
Muscle pain can be caused by fatigue due to prolonged or intense physical exercise, fatigue of the lower extremities from long walks and daily stress, and minor injuries. In women, painful sensations and heaviness in the legs are the reason for wearing uncomfortable shoes, high heels, especially in combination with very tight jeans, trousers or skirts. A nagging discomfort often appears, which is characteristic of congestion in the blood vessels caused by a sedentary lifestyle in general or prolonged stay in one position in particular.
All of these conditions (except serious injuries) most often do not require medical attention. The painful sensations go away on their own after some time, usually after proper rest. You can speed up the normalization of muscle function and relieve pain, if it is really caused by banal fatigue and overexertion, using traditional methods.
But sometimes the cause of muscle pain lies in more dangerous conditions than intense physical activity. The following can provoke discomfort of varying nature, localization and intensity:
Factors predisposing to the development of diseases, the symptom of which is pain in the leg muscles, also provoke many other pathologies. The following factors contribute to the development of pathologies with clinical manifestations in the form of muscle pain in the lower extremities:
As already mentioned, some conditions do not require mandatory medical attention, although consultation with a specialist is still advisable, just in case. You can use traditional methods to relieve muscle pain in the legs in cases where there is complete confidence that the discomfort is caused solely by physical fatigue of the lower extremities, and heaviness occurs not in one, but in both legs at once.
This pain syndrome occurs after long walks, a particularly active day, too intense exercise or physical activity in an untrained person. A buzzing, aching pain affects both legs and intensifies with movement. The localization of discomfort depends on the muscle group that experienced the greatest tension. So, after squats, pain is felt in the front of the thigh, and when standing on your toes for a long time, pain is felt in the calf muscles or calves.
Prolonged immobilization of limbs can also cause discomfort. Heaviness, partial loss of sensitivity and dull pain are observed after being in one position for a long time. The main reason for the appearance of such symptoms is stagnation of venous blood, which is characterized by oxygen starvation in muscle cells, impaired microcirculation and irritation of pain receptors in the venous walls.
The most susceptible to this pain syndrome are people whose professional activities involve constant static tension and forced immobilization of the limbs (mainly office professions or work in the service sector). Sometimes discomfort can also appear during a long flight in a sitting position, traveling on a bus over long distances, and in other similar situations where there is no opportunity to warm up.
Pain, which is most likely caused by fatigue, congestion or physical overexertion, can be reduced with home remedies. There are many methods that not only relieve pain, but are also a good way to strengthen the immune system.
A common way is to raise your legs above the level of your heart and lie in this position for about 20-30 minutes. The method has a positive effect because under the influence of gravity, excess fluid flows from the lower extremities to the abdominal area, from where it is easily removed from the body by the kidneys in the form of urine. The outflow of fluid allows you to relieve swelling, which will improve blood circulation and allow your legs to rest faster after overload.
Any traditional methods should be used with extreme caution and only in cases where there is complete confidence in the origin of pain in the leg muscles. It is best to first consult with a specialist regarding a specific diagnosis and the appropriateness and method of using a particular home remedy.
Another common remedy that not only reduces pain, but also helps strengthen the immune system, and is also a caring (cosmetic) procedure that has a beneficial effect on rough skin of the feet is baths with medicinal plants and essential oils:
It is recommended to do baths before bedtime so that the leg muscles can fully relax and recover after the procedure. Keep your feet in warm water with the addition of essential oils, medicinal plants or their compositions for at least 20 minutes and no more than three times a week.
If you experience regular pain in your legs, you should consult a doctor.
Such home remedies will not have a positive effect if you have any diseases.
At home, you can also use contrasting foot baths. It is necessary to alternately place your feet in a bowl with either cold (for 1-2 minutes) or hot water (for 3-5 minutes). The optimal water temperature to start with should be 20 and 30°C, respectively. The temperature difference should be increased gradually; it is advisable to lower the temperature of cold water rather than increase hot water. You need to alternate baths at least 11 times.
Ice compresses are very soothing. To carry out the procedure, you should first freeze the decoctions of medicinal herbs in ordinary ice cube trays. Sage leaves, yarrow, linden flowers, dry nettle leaves, lemon balm and chamomile are suitable. It is recommended to wipe tired feet with ice cubes wrapped in gauze or any other thin cloth in a circular motion for 5-10 minutes. Exposure to cold improves blood circulation and quickly relieves pain.
Apple cider vinegar will help improve blood circulation in the lower extremities after long walks or exercise. Vinegar contains useful trace elements, acids and vitamins, which makes it an effective remedy used in folk medicine and cosmetology. A positive result (relieving swelling, improving blood flow and alleviating discomfort) can be achieved in the following ways:
There are no methods that would allow you to forget forever about muscle pain caused by physiological reasons. It will not be possible to completely eliminate situations from your own life that provoke discomfort in the lower extremities. It is impossible, and it is not necessary, to completely avoid physical activity in order to prevent physiological muscle pain, because such discomfort is the norm if it occurs due to reasons, and not for no reason and regularly.
The main rule is to try to lead a healthy lifestyle. When playing sports, you should follow the exercise technique, do not forget about the preliminary warm-up, conduct regular training, and not exercise haphazardly. In addition, it is necessary to monitor your own weight - obesity provokes not only excessive tension in the leg muscles, but also has a significant negative impact on the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, and on the entire body in general.
It is important to know how to choose the right shoes, i.e. one that corresponds to the anatomical structure of the foot. For some ladies, of course, it will be difficult to completely give up high heels, but this is not required: usually it is enough to just give your feet proper rest by changing into comfortable pumps or sneakers for at least 3 days a week.
You should not often wear pants or skirts that are too tight or too tight. Such clothing disrupts normal blood circulation in the lower extremities and can provoke not only physiological pain in the leg muscles, but also various vascular diseases.
If your leg muscles hurt for no apparent physiological reason, especially in cases where the discomfort is quite strong, appears regularly and does not go away after proper rest, you should visit a specialist. Such symptoms may indicate the presence of a disease that affects blood vessels, bones, joints, nerve fibers, or the leg muscles themselves.
Only a physician can determine pathology based on examination and questioning of the patient, anamnesis (medical history) and additional research. You should not try to diagnose the disease yourself, and even more so you should not self-medicate - this can have much more detrimental consequences than simply the lack of result of such therapy.
Pathologies, the characteristic symptom of which is muscle pain in the legs, can be diseases:
In addition, muscle pain as a nonspecific symptom may be observed in some patients in the following situations:
An important factor that allows us to establish an accurate diagnosis is the nature and location of pain. Thus, the feeling that the legs are twisting occurs due to weather sensitivity or damage to the joints, and discomfort above the knee may often indicate pathologies of the spine.
Muscle pain of various types, localization and intensity in the vast majority of cases is a characteristic symptom of varicose veins, the result of flat feet or scoliosis, they speak of vascular atherosclerosis, thrombophlebitis or myositis.
Varicose veins of the lower extremities are an extremely common disease that is characterized by deformation and loss of elasticity of the veins. Impaired blood circulation and other provoking factors lead to weakening of the venous walls and valves, which is manifested by swelling, pain, protrusion of veins onto the surface of the skin, and the formation of nodes and convolutions. Malnutrition of the skin can lead to the appearance of a trophic ulcer or varicose eczema, and a decrease in the speed of blood flow provokes the formation of blood clots.
Women are more likely to suffer from varicose veins; the hereditary factor is of great importance. The main causes of varicose veins: decreased elasticity of the walls and valves of blood vessels and impaired blood circulation. Other factors that provoke the development of varicose veins include:
In men, varicose veins usually occur in a more severe form. This fact is due to the fact that representatives of the stronger half of humanity turn to doctors, as a rule, in the later stages of the disease, without noticing the first (cosmetic) signs of the development of the pathological process.
Early signs of varicose veins are rarely regarded as an alarming signal, so the disease is most often diagnosed already at the stage when characteristic skin pigmentation appears on the affected areas, the veins begin to protrude and even be palpated.
In the early stages of the development of the disease, swelling appears, the legs ache very much when walking, a constant feeling of fatigue is typical, the legs are pulled above or below the knees. At first, the symptoms are similar to signs of banal overexertion or stress. However, over time, discomfort in the leg muscles accompanies a person every day, intensifies at night, does not go away after a long rest (long weekend or vacation with a minimum of stress), and the pain is no longer relieved by folk remedies or over-the-counter painkillers. Varicose veins can appear only on the right or left leg or on both at once.
Further, night cramps are observed (in general, the pain intensifies significantly at night), lumps appear on the skin of the legs and spider veins, bloating and heaviness are felt in the calves, protruding veins become visible, swelling appears on the calves, the skin acquires an abnormal color (dark purple, dark brown, black). The patient often becomes irritable and anxious, suffers from sleep disorders, and experiences stress more often. Similar symptoms are characteristic already of the third and fourth stages of the disease, when the formation of blood clots and trophic ulcers is possible.
The course of the disease is aggravated by excess weight, sexually transmitted infections, chronic constipation, abortion, liver and biliary tract diseases. Varicose veins of the lower extremities have a negative impact on the condition of the entire body; often patients diagnosed with varicose veins have concomitant pathologies of the liver and biliary tract, chronic headaches and dysfunction of the pelvic organs.
Varicose veins significantly worsen the patient’s quality of life and necessarily require qualified treatment, because may have serious health consequences. Therapy depends on the stage of development of the disease, the presence of concomitant pathologies, individual characteristics of the body, tolerability of specific medications or their components and many other factors.
In any case, treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities requires complex therapy aimed not only at relieving symptoms and preventing complications, but also at eliminating the causes of the disease. Under the guidance of the attending physician, the patient should adjust the existing lifestyle, most often it is necessary to:
In addition, external treatment (use of medicinal ointments, creams and gels), drug therapy (blood thinners, anti-inflammatory drugs and drugs that improve the tone of the vascular walls) are indicated.
Patients are often recommended laser therapy, which helps eliminate the manifestations of varicose veins painlessly, relatively quickly and effectively.
In some cases, surgery is indicated to remove damaged varicose veins. The operation is performed in case of extensive damage to the veins, pathological expansion, disturbances in the normal outflow of blood or trophic changes in the skin.
Another very common cause of muscle pain in the lower extremities is flat feet. Foot deformation in itself is not a pathology dangerous to health, but the consequences of flat feet can already be quite serious diseases.
With insufficient development of the muscles and ligaments of the leg, which cannot support the foot in the correct position, a significant additional load occurs on the entire musculoskeletal system. Due to insufficient blood supply, back pain and headaches appear, including fainting, and gait is impaired.
A typical sign of first-degree foot deformity is swelling and heaviness in the legs, which appears in the evening. If flat feet are not treated, a sharp pain soon appears just above the ankles, in the area of the shins and knees. Acute pain intensifies when walking, then gait disturbances or even significant difficulties with independent movement may occur.
Treatment for flat feet involves:
Traditional medicine offers the use of wormwood compresses as an effective remedy for flat feet and muscle pain caused by the disease. For a therapeutic effect, rinse and apply wormwood leaves to the foot, securing them with a soft cloth.
Another traditional medicine recipe that helps relieve pain and fatigue in the legs with flat feet: mix freshly squeezed lemon juice with a 3% iodine solution in equal proportions and add a couple of crushed aspirin tablets. The ointment should be applied to the sore spot, covered with film and a warm cloth.
Myositis is a group of diseases that affect the connective tissues of the body. There is a huge variety of forms of myositis. They are classified depending on the location (localized or diffuse), the nature of the disease (acute or chronic), origin (occupational or infectious) and clinical manifestations (purulent or non-purulent). Muscle pain in the legs is caused by myositis of the extremities.
Characteristic signs of a disease localized in the lower extremities are:
With myositis, the legs hurt most often in the lower leg area.
Sometimes discomfort is accompanied by signs of intoxication of the body: fever, nausea and vomiting, stool disorders, headache, fatigue and irritability. In this case, we can talk about parasitic causes of the development of the disease (ingestion of cysticerci or trichinella).
Treatment of inflammation of the muscles of the lower extremities involves medications (vitamins, analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs) and manual therapy, physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis, magnetic therapy). In some cases, acupuncture, treatment with bees or leeches is used.
For different forms of the course, causes, clinical manifestations of pathology, different localization of the inflammatory process, various therapeutic complexes are indicated. For example, for complicated forms of myositis, additional pharmaceutical drugs are used (the parasitic disease requires the use of anthelmintic drugs), and for purulent inflammation, massages are contraindicated.
Myositis is dangerous due to the possible transition to a chronic form of the disease, in which unpleasant symptoms persist for a long time, and the muscles significantly weaken and shorten. Chronic myositis of the lower extremities requires sanatorium treatment, regular massage sessions and a complex of physical therapy.
Any ailment that appears for no reason and regularly brings significant discomfort and over time ceases to be relieved with folk remedies or over-the-counter medications, and therefore requires mandatory consultation with a doctor. Even minor pain in some cases is a harbinger of a serious illness, which can become chronic in the absence of appropriate treatment.
An inflamed nerve can cause pain in the calf of the left or right leg. Having answered the question regarding why the calves hurt, you should be puzzled by treatment methods. Unbearable acute pain in the calves is, unfortunately, familiar to many.
Thousands of people around the world regularly experience pain in the calf muscles. Not many people know the reasons for this phenomenon, although they really want to get rid of it.
There are quite a few reasons for the appearance of such pain, so not timely treatment or improper self-medication can lead to serious consequences.
Thus, many people may notice that their legs hurt after working out. If your calves hurt, you should first examine the entire surface of your legs from the back.
Moreover, the disease is slowly getting younger, so even if a child has pain in his calves, thrombophlebitis cannot be discounted without a full range of diagnostic procedures.
Spinal diseases can easily cause a pinched nerve. For this reason, a person may feel that the calf of his left leg or right leg hurts.
The source may be located much higher, but the pain may bother the buttock, lower back, or the leg itself in different places. Ice perfectly relieves pain and has an anti-inflammatory effect in the first minutes after injury.
Of course, this can be called an emergency way to get rid of pain, but not treatment. Even after the pain goes away, because the muscles must be warmed up before jogging.
For pain, you can rub the following ointments: Finalgon, Finalgel, Fastum gel, etc. The cost of the listed drugs starts at 200 rubles, but they will quickly relieve a person of unbearable pain, and thereby allow him to breathe deeply.
This extremely simple but effective remedy greatly reduces inflammation and irritation, so the pain will soon subside.
For this reason, its treatment, in most cases, is surgical. Complaints of pain in the calf muscles are not uncommon; moreover, they may be accompanied by cramps and severe swelling. Good old foot baths are more important than ever during pregnancy.
It is recommended to do such contrast baths in the evening so that pain does not bother you at night. You can also simply soak your feet in warm water with the addition of chamomile decoction.
You can predict the appearance of systematic pain in the legs by playing sports. But for me, oddly enough, this kind of aching pain often happens before rain and it always works.
My calves started hurting somewhere from the seventh month of pregnancy, and only massage helped, because most painkillers cannot be used, all of them have contraindications - pregnancy.
But in most cases, a person is in no hurry to see a doctor if he occasionally experiences cramps or simply cramps a muscle, because he does not know why his calves hurt and what it can lead to.
Therefore, in order to establish reliable causes of pain in the calf muscles, you need to know about its structure and functioning.
Pain can occur after exercise, and, of course, when this area is injured. In truth, it is worth noting that when walking and after running, the calves of the legs hurt most often due to sprain and overload. Unfortunately, the reasons that cause pain in the calves are different, and quite serious.
With thrombophlebitis, the pain in the leg in the calf area is pulsating in nature, and what is noteworthy is that the discomfort is constant, compared to other diseases.
Often neurological pain is caused by “irritation” of a nerve, most often in the lumbosacral spine. The areas of the body at the back of the legs, just below the knees, are generally called the calves.
Treatment depends entirely on the cause of the problem. This pathology requires urgent medical intervention, so pain in the calves in such a situation becomes a very valuable symptom.
Therefore, treatment for such a disease should begin immediately. With such a disease, both painful attacks and constant pain may appear, and in any case, the pain is accompanied by cramps.
First of all, it is worth saying that pain in the legs requires immediate contact with a specialist. This means that for some time you need to forget about physical exercise and allow your own muscles and ligaments to recover. Despite its high prevalence, the causes of this disease are not known to everyone.
A vascular surgeon treats varicose veins. For this reason, death may occur. This is a characteristic feature of a neurological cause - “radiating” pain to one limb.
Moreover, it affects not only mature people, but also teenagers who suffer from spinal curvature.
Of course, for the reasons listed above, there are various treatments that are suitable for one disease, but not at all recommended for another. For this reason, we will consider all treatment methods separately for each ailment.
But when the pain is not caused by injury, and is systematic, then a warm compress is the best solution. In order for the leg muscles to withstand hours of training more steadfastly, they should be thoroughly warmed up.
This way, the whole body will prepare for the workout and the muscles will stretch in advance. We are talking about ice cubes that need to be moved over the sore areas of the legs. Ice will not completely relieve pain, but it will certainly stimulate microcirculation.
This will cause pain in the calf of the right leg. The most interesting thing is that there may be no pain in the spine itself. As already mentioned, pain in the legs is often accompanied by swelling.