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The “forced-to-bum-shuffle-downstairs routine” doesn’t happen to me too often. I keep generally fit and do a wide range of sport activities. I’m renowned for it in Scotland, especially for hill walking, running, cycling and triathlon. I’m also aware of my physical limitations at the grand age of 42!
But occasionally I have completely overdone the exercise to the extent that my aching leg muscles do not like walking even a gentle descent, let alone the downstairs – and so I’ve been forced to bum shuffle. The pain is just as bad when sitting down, getting in and out of the car or just moving any faster than a geriatric shuffle!
In recent years there have been two memorable “bum shuffling” situations. One was following my debut marathon, the very hilly Loch Ness Marathon. I pushed myself to the edge of my ability and while I came home in a respectable 3:35 I could barely walk without wincing in agony for the following fortnight.
The other “bum shuffle” aftermath came a couple of weekends ago. Over one weekend I cycle 57 miles around the Applecross Peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, including the infamous Alpine ascent called the Bealach-na-ba. The next day I summitted two Munros (the 283 Scottish mountains over 3000ft). I had not expected this combination to cause any post-exercise pain as both outings are well within my usual weekend of activity.
But it seems that the very hilly cycle, followed by the steep ascent and descent of Beinn Alligin in Torrridon, Scottish Highlands, pushed my quads and calves their max.
And so from Monday to Friday of the following week I had sore and tired legs. Because I had entered a sprint triathlon, due to take place on the Sunday, I spent many days anxiously asking friends and experts for advice on avoiding the same muscle-zapping nightmare in future.
Why My Leg Muscles Ached So Much
The best explanation and tips came from health expert Ben Brown, who runs Pilates Works in Edinburgh.
He explained that the pain was coming from micro-tears in the muscles. While these tiny tears are all part of normal exercise and can lead to stronger muscles in the long-term once the tears heal, in my case I’d gone a bit far. I had also failed to follow a sensible post-exercise recovery routine.
Coming down of the Munro I’d managed a quick stretch before jumping in the car to drive four hours home.
What I Should Have Done Post-Exercise
Apparently, I should have immediately jumped in a cold bath or shower, or given my bare legs a paddle in a cold river or loch following both the cycle and the mountain hike. We’re not short of cold rivers and lochs in Scotland so that would have been easily sorted.
After the cold dunking, it would have been advisable to elevate the legs to prevent blood charging towards the micro-tears and, in turn, causing the muscles to swell and become painful.
Brown recommends a few days of this cold water or cold compress routine with as much rest as possible. He says: “When your muscles are in such trauma you need to help them to recover by resting and using ice packs. Keeping the legs elevated will also help to alleviate damage.”
Muscle damage is actually fine so long as you allow for recovery. The micro-tears will repair and then the muscles will become bigger and stronger.
Many athletes also swear by Skins, the compression leggings that are meant to aid muscle recovery. I own a pair but had forgotten that they were tucked away in my wardrobe. If only I’d have remembered I might have avoided so much pain.
The Next Stage Of Muscle Recovery
After a few days of ice, rest and elevation it’s time to move on to the next stage of recovery. Now you want to warm up the muscles to get the blood to circulate again and to help the body to further repair itself and to remove unwanted toxins from the muscles. Ben recommends some light exercise, warm baths, massage and a sauna.
If only I had known then I would not have ended up doing a triathlon on tired legs. I did manage to assist the repair with a massage but the agony of having my painful legs worked isn’t to be advised. It did help to flush out some of the toxins and I felt my legs recovered a little of their usual strength but it wasn’t really enough to achieve a PB on the event day.
To make matters worse I ended up with bad calf cramp between the bike ride and the run, which set my run section time back by more than a minute.
Learn By Your Mistakes
I was, however prepared for the post-triathlon recovery! Immediately after the triathlon I headed for a cold shower and then I spent the night in my Skins! The leggings might be a bit of a passion killer but they certainly seemed to have alleviated the worst of the muscles aches.
Sometimes there is pain in the learning curve!
By FionaOutdoors
