After running a marathon legs and knees pain normal running muscle soreness how to

Most people have pain after a marathon, especially in the lower extremities, so what is the cause of this? And how can we solve how to prevent it?

What is delayed onset muscle soreness?

Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS for short, is a type of muscle soreness or discomfort that occurs 24-48 hours after exercise and usually lasts two to three days. Old-fashioned theories generally believe that the pain is caused by lactic acid accumulation, but recent medical research has confirmed that the real cause is microscopic damage to muscle fibers due to unaccustomed exercise volume during muscle stretching. Another theory is that the pain is not due to damage to muscle cells, but rather the expansion of cells during the process of intramuscular strengthening, pressing on nerves and blood vessels, resulting in delayed muscle pain.

Causes

1. Centrifugal contraction

Stretching the muscle while maintaining tension, such as slowly lowering a heavy object, descending stairs, etc. This may explain why it is so easy to get iron legs the next day after going hiking.

2. Unaccustomed exercise

A marathon runner running 100 meters may make him too sore to get up the next day, the same way a 100-meter runner running a marathon may make him wail the next day when squatting on the toilet.

3. Sudden increase in intensity

If the intensity of exercise is suddenly increased, the body is particularly prone to soreness before it adapts.

How to treat

When delayed muscle soreness occurs, anything that can increase blood circulation to the muscles can help relieve it, such as low-intensity activities, sports massage, hot baths, and adequate post-exercise nutritional supplements are also very important. It is worth mentioning that delayed muscle soreness is actually not related to lactic acid, because lactic acid has dropped after thirty minutes to an hour after exercise, and lactic acid as a by-product of the physiological process of exercise, in fact, to slow down the acidity of the satiety. However, if muscle soreness does not diminish significantly even 72 hours or even 96 hours after exercise, or even if muscle swelling occurs, it is necessary to seek medical attention immediately.

Prevention methods

The easiest way to reduce or avoid the occurrence of delayed muscle soreness is to gradually increase the intensity when performing new training methods, allowing the natural adaptation mechanisms of the muscles to be used. Although the primary cause of delayed muscle soreness is centrifugal contraction, intentionally reducing the magnitude of centrifugal contraction seems impractical in most training modalities. Surprisingly, it turns out that static stretching or warming up before exercise does not actually prevent delayed muscle soreness, but of course its role in reducing injury still cannot be ignored.