What can you do for stiff muscles?

I usually go horse riding every weekend, but had a few weeks off. I rode for the first time in about a month on Sunday, and it was a long, strenuous ride (galloping on the beach, jumpin driftwood etc).I am now REALLY feeling this, particularly in tmy thighs: they are stiff and not very comfortable. Is there anything I can do to relieve this?

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Reply 1

killerbee

stiff muscles - he he he :wink:

Reply 2

Feefifofum

killerbee

stiff muscles - he he he :wink:

I had a feeling someone would do that :rolleyes:

Reply 3

fordeletionpurposesonly.

What I normally do when I'm aching after Karate is have a long warm bath to relax up the muscles and then kind of massage them, kinda combining loosening them up and say... moisterising :biggrin:

Hope it helps!

Reply 4

stu673

More exercise? always loosens them up!

Reply 5

fordeletionpurposesonly.

(why can't I quote?!)

- More exercise....

It's not really a good idea to push already strained muscles, as it can cause further damage and takes longer for them to heal... best to leave it a little while, or at least try and massage/relax them before continuing exercising.

Reply 6

rock_eleven

moderate cardio and dynamic stretches seem to help a lot

Reply 7

stu673

red665

Aren't stiff muscles usually just a build up of lactic acid that you havent managed to work out yet? I dunno, its been too long since AS biology!

Reply 8

Feefifofum

I went for a jog yesterday and it made my legs more sore, so more exercise is probably not a good idea. I'll try massaging them in the bath.

Reply 9

fordeletionpurposesonly.

stu673

Aren't stiff muscles usually just a build up of lactic acid that you havent managed to work out yet? I dunno, its been too long since AS biology!

Aha... the quote thingy's there, I just can't see it. Great!

It's been too long for me too since AS Biology, but as I understand it, when a muscle aches it's because it's been either over worked or over stretched without a decent warm up first. If you try and say, go for a jog, in the middle of winter, or any time really, without stretching first, you'll find your muscles ache like mad 'cause they were cold and you've tried to stretch them out. That's why you always need to warm up before exercise. Lactic acid is when you're not breathing enough, I think - the acid builds up causing a stitch... but when you breath deeply it disperses back into the body. I think it's your body's way of telling you to stop and take a breather.

I think, anyway! could be wrong! lol

Reply 10

rock_eleven

Feefifofum

I went for a jog yesterday and it made my legs more sore, so more exercise is probably not a good idea. I'll try massaging them in the bath.

or, going for "a jog" whatever exactly that was, isnt a good idea for the kind of soreness you had. I dont think you can conclude that "exercise" (hugely broad term) is not a good idea

Reply 11

rock_eleven

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/01_99/muscle.htm some basic info

Reply 12

Feefifofum

rock_eleven

or, going for "a jog" whatever exactly that was, isnt a good idea for the kind of soreness you had. I dont think you can conclude that "exercise" (hugely broad term) is not a good idea

Going for a "jog" was a standard run for me, about 2 miles at a fairly gentle pace. I did stretches before and afterwards as well. Seeing this covered both cardio and stretching my usual kinds of exercise (running, cycling, gym work) can pretty much be rules out as being helpful for this.

Reply 13

rock_eleven

it rules out the running and stretching that you did, yes, but i still dont think all "exercise"

static stretches are said to hinder recovery from DOMS, dynamic stretches may have helped more

Reply 14

lilsk8achic666

When I'm feeling strain in my muscles usually from running, I have a long hot bath, massage the muscles, just like red665 said. Then have a day or two doing nothing much but relaxing, having long baths and looking after my muscles. I don't do any more exercise if I'm still sore, but they usually recover pretty quickly.

Reply 15

Barny

red665

Complete load of utter rubbish, can't you just delete that post so nobody has to read through that and mistakinly think there might be something accurate in that post?

Reply 16

Barny

In short, no theres nothing you can do, its just about letting your body recover now, the way to get rid of the pain temporarily is to do some form of non-impact exercise, cycling for example, you'll find the pain goes away whilst doing the exercise(bloody flowing through the muscles etc.) but comes back afterwards. Dunno if that appeals.

Reply 17

milady

I've been told that you should exercise more. eg. if you've been in an intensive camp/done a cross-country, the day after you should go for a light walk. Maybe you should stretch, too?

Reply 18

Sophdoph

Don't exercise more..rest! Put a hot compress on your muscle, like a hot water bottle or cherry stone pillow. Use neurofen gel/ibruleve to ease out the tension. Make sure you always warm down, and when it's less sore begin to do some light stretches.

Reply 19

mbailey

Firstly, it depends on the kind of pain - if it's in a joint or hurts when you apply pressure, you've probably strained/sprained it and should ice it and rest it completly for a few days. If you've been doing anything anaerobic or high intensity, it could be lactic acid, in which case the muscle will be tender to the touch, and will respond better to heat. This type of pain shouldnt last more than a day or so and will be reduced in the future by drinking isotonic drinks or increasing salt intake. If the muscle hurts and is stiff (ie you have reduced flexibility) you can use it, you just need to warm up properly and do a massive stretch after the warm up and after the excercise. With this kind of muscle ache you should take at least one day off in a week to let the muscles rebuild. Hope that helps.