Running aches

[Polo2847]

So I've never ran/jogged in a while and i noticed that the sides of my knees and side-back of my butt joints were sore. is this normal? is this because i've never ran in a long time?

[IAMWILL]

Generally if you're sore, its because you used muscles you haven't used in awhile that aren't used to seeing work, or you worked normal muscles a lot harder than you do nornally. So yea, its normal.

[TigerBoy]

Yeah like IAMWILL said its just because your muscles and tendons etc aren't used to it. It can go on for several days, but you'll proabably if you give yourself a chance to recover you'll have considerably less discomfort next time.

If you are in pain an anti-inflammatory (ibuprufen) could help recovery as well as reducing the discomfort. Try to keep moving and do gentle stretching, which will help counteract the muscles tendency to contract or even cramp. If you have to sit in class for long periods doing things like straightening your leg and pulling your toes towards you can help.

[Nellerin]

Running has been proven to be bad for your knee joints as well as other parts of you body. So that is why you are sore.

That is why runners generally have something wrong with their joints by the time they are 50 or 60.

Biking is way better for cardio IMO.

[TigerBoy]

Running has been proven to be bad for your knee joints as well as other parts of you body. So that is why you are sore.

That is why runners generally have something wrong with their joints by the time they are 50 or 60.

Biking is way better for cardio IMO.

Very good point. Also why I don't run (swimming or cross trainers for me).

You can reduce both short and long term effects by having properly fitted running shoes (as in have your running style analysed and your shoes adapted correctly for you by having custom moldings or padding added to correct any problems).

As an example, if you've got eg fallen arches you then tilt the ankle and twist the knee as a result. The effect of impact on these two joints when they are not in alignment can lead to cartilage damage (long term) and tendon damage (short and long term). It will typically also make you less efficient at running, and make you more prone to muscular injury.

[RockObsessed]

Oh my god I can so relate to you...I'm a track runner and over the summer, I got kinda lazy so I didn't run for a while. When I started training again, I was SO sore. There's not really a cure to soreness but what I did was that every time I ran, I stretched before and afterwards. Also, after you run, try not to sit down because you'll tighten your muscles and that'll just be really uncomfortable.

Also, eat lots of protein and drink lots of water. I recommend drinking like low-fat chocolate milk or something after you workout/run because it helps with soreness.

And it's normal for your joints to hurt when you run after not running for a period of time.

[Taryn98]

Sounds like normal soreness from not doing it in a while. I tried running track in junior high but I always got shin splints that were super bad so I quit. It's weird because I play soccer and have to run a lot for that but I never seemed to have a problem there.

[TeamCrossCountry]

I had a problem with pain in the side of my knee after I hadn't been running for a while and just jumped right back into an 18 mile run, and 7 mile runs after that. I actually missed out on my Cross Country Season because of it this year, and I think it was because I tried to get back going into it too quickly