Let's say that I feel a little pain after doing some exercise I don't normally do.
Is it okay to, say, walk normally instead of limping a bit with a minor pain in a leg, or does it make the muscle's condition worse?
The very general advice I’ve been given is to coddle joints, tendons and ligaments like pampered princesses, and to treat muscles like dirt.
Of course, an actual tear or something you let the damn thing heal - but if you’ve just overdone it a bit, you’re better off better pushing through and using it normally.
Most of the pain from day-after-workout soreness is from swelling - the muscle bundles get a little frayed and leak fluid into the sheath, and it’s the pressure buildup that causes the pain. If you walk on it anyway (or equivalent), you gradually squeeze the fluid out, and it becomes much less complainy (until you rest for a few hours and it fills back up again).
At least, that’s what I’ve been told, and what I’ve noticed in my own experience. This is not medical advice.
Walking normally is highly preferred, especially if the pattern of pain is asymmetric. Abnormal gait will reconfigure your myofascia and reinforce the altered gait.
There is a difference between pain from an injury and muscle pain from excercise (DOMS). The former should be treated like a real injury where you give rest including very light exercise. Too much work could make the damage worse. The latter can be mostly ignored except for your own comfort.
A little pain/soreness is probably fine, just don’t overdo it: Allow yourself some recovery time between training, make sure you get good nutrition, plenty of water, and plenty of rest.
some light exercise speeds up the recovery (if you didn’t damage it too bad). limping could cause problems in supporting muscles. if the pain is unbearable, maybe avoid walking too much.
Exactly this. Active recovery (moving the muscles around like normal with a bit of exercise) is the best. Limping will likely cause other problems down the line.
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