Questions About Running-Related Pain Answered
Why Does The Pain Increase As More Time Passes After My Last Run?
You may find that your soreness or pain is either pretty mild or virtually non-existent during or immediately after a particularly strenuous run, yet it tends to only get worse and more noticeable as time passes and the days go by. This may seem like it doesn’t make much sense, but it is more common than you may think. If you are experiencing this, you are more than likely experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS. This type of pain is actually encouraging in a sense, because it means that you are pushing your muscles to become stronger than they ever were.
When your muscles are unaccustomed to being worked hard, some of the muscle fibers become strained and broken. As your muscles use the protein in your body to repair this damage, your muscles rebuild to a stronger state, which essentially builds up your muscles and strength. You can minimize DOMS by gradually pacing your exercises, so you aren’t overdoing anything. When the soreness disappears, your muscles will be stronger for it.
Why Is Inflammation Considered Bad When It’s The Body’s Natural Response To Injury?
A short-term strain will cause inflammation that works to improve healing on a cellular level in your body. However, long-term inflammation that becomes chronic is a sign of poor health. A chronically inflamed tendon will actually begin to degenerate over time if it is left untreated. If you notice that you tend to experience high levels of inflammation in one particular area pretty consistently after you run, your best bet is to put ice or a cold pack on the affected area so that the swelling goes down.