Working through sore muscles
My good ol' heating pad has gotten me through many a pain for many years. Ibuprofen and Aleve have helped me, too.
Last night and most of today I have been doing what I call the “old lady walk.”
On Thursday night I worked out with Jenn and Monica. I am pretty much sore all over. But my thighs and butt are what are really feeling it.
I knew after the hour-long program we did I would be feeling it later on. All day yesterday I could feel it deep in my muscles. I went to yoga last night and it was difficult.
Before I went to bed last night I was doing the “old lady walk.”
I did a little more than 10 minutes of stair climbing today before spin as part of a work wellness challenge. Spin was tougher than normal with the sore butt, thighs and abs. Then my usual 30 minutes of abs. I was gonna skip out on body conditioning as I didn’t think I could handle weights or squats or lunges. I did the class. But wow, that hurt.
I have been switching back and forth between ibuprofen and Aleve. I have also been using my heating pad, which I normally use for my back pain and cramps.
In this WebMD article, it mentions ice is better to start with: Ice the sore area right after the activity to reduce inflammation, then use heat later to increase blood flow to the area.
Like a hangover, time will cure the pain. The muscle soreness “peaks within about 48 hours and then it will gradually get better,” Ethel Frese, PT, DPT, CCS, associate professor of Physical Therapy at St. Louis University, says in the WebMD article.
I found conflicting information online as to whether you should rest your sore muscles or work through the soreness. This slideshow on Livestrong.com gives some good tips.
The sore muscles I have are good sore muscles. Just make sure when doing weights or squats or lunges or abs that you don’t actually hurt yourself. That’s a whole other issue.