Joint Pain

Let's focus on the legs!

How are your treads holding up?  As you pick up the pace or mileage of your walking program you may find that your legs need a bit of a tune up.  It is not uncommon to feel some pain or discomfort in the muscles of your lower leg when you get more aggressive with your walking technique.  Let’s take a look at why this happens as well as how to prevent and recover from this potential performance barrier. 

In order to pick up your fitness walking pace it takes a more exaggerated ankle action and forward body lean. This technique creates a greater demand on the muscles of the lower leg.  The front of the lower leg or anterior tibialis muscle group must dorsi flex your ankle (which mean pulling the forefoot up closer to the shin) on the forward heel strike.  Then the back of your lower leg or gastrocnemius muscle group must plantar flex your ankle (which means pushing your forefoot away from your shin) to propel you forward and into the next step.  The greater the action the faster you walk.  This increase in ankle action can takes its toll on the lower leg muscles and their attachments, causing a general sense of pain in the shin, calf and ankle areas.  This is especially true when you first start a more aggressive walking program.  In most cases the muscle pain you sense is due to a condition know as DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness. 

DOMS is your muscles way of telling you that you have introduced it to something new and challenging.  It is nature’s way of slowing you down so that the muscle tissues can progressively get stronger without getting injured.  Keep in mind that any pain that results in swelling or bruising or lasts for more than a week, should be checked out by the appropriate medical professional. 

So what can you do to avoid or treat DOMS in the lower leg muscles? 

Let’s start with a list of ways to minimize or avoid DOMS:
1. Make sure you have proper, supportive footwear.
2. Progress into your program goals gradually.
3. Warm up properly before your walk, including lower leg movements that mimic the positions your ankle will travel through (i.e. walking on your toes then heels for approximately 30 seconds each).
4. Stretch the muscles of the ankle after the walk, holding each stretch for at least 20 seconds (i.e. ankle circles, and calf stretches).
5. Keep the muscles of your ankle strong by doing lower leg condition exercises (i.e. calf raises and dorsi flexion with foot resistance).

 

Now what can be done once you are feeling a bit of lower leg DOMS:
1. Take a few days off from your walk and if possible cross train by doing an activity that does not use the same foot pattern (i.e. swimming or cycling).
2. Massage and stretch the front and rear leg muscles daily.
3. Ice the affected areas.
4. Stay well hydrated and keep your joint lubrication up with the appropriate joint supportive nutritional supplements such as a glucosamine and chondroitin liquid supplement that's easy to take and fast absorbing.

Have a great Walking Challenge!