What causes thigh pain after exercise?

Many people have discovered this phenomenon. Whenever they do strenuous exercise, their thighs will feel sore, especially on the next day. The soreness will be more severe, and sometimes it hurts so much that they can't walk. Many people don't understand why their thighs hurt after exercise. In fact, this is a very normal reaction in the human body. Let me introduce to you why your thighs hurt after exercise!

Why do I feel sore thighs after exercise?

When you first start exercising, or when you suddenly increase the amount of exercise, you may sometimes experience muscle soreness. There are two types of muscle soreness: one is soreness that occurs immediately after exercise, but disappears quickly, which is called acute muscle soreness; the other is soreness that does not occur immediately after exercise, but occurs several hours after exercise or even after a night's sleep, and disappears very slowly, taking two or three days to disappear. This type of soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness. The reasons for their occurrence are not exactly the same.

Acute muscle soreness is often caused by strenuous exercise and insufficient oxygen supply, which causes a large accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. Lactic acid is an acidic substance that can stimulate the nerve endings in the muscles and produce pain. In addition, the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles will cause excessive local osmotic pressure, which will absorb water from the surrounding area and cause muscle edema. This swelling and irritation is also the cause of muscle soreness. After exercise, the lactic acid accumulated in the muscles is gradually transported away by the blood, and the muscle soreness gradually disappears.

There is currently no consensus on the cause of delayed onset muscle soreness. Some people believe that it is because the muscle fibers are torn slightly after long-term exercise; others believe that it is because the muscle connective tissue is damaged to a certain extent. There is not much experimental material to confirm the above two theories. Muscle soreness caused by this reason can be relieved by doing some stretching exercises, massage or acupuncture.

Muscle soreness often indicates that your exercise level is not yet adapted to the current amount of exercise. If you persist and exercise regularly, when your body's functions are improved to a new level, you will adapt and similar amounts of exercise will not cause you to experience muscle soreness.

From the above introduction, we can see that if muscle soreness occurs, it means that the amount of exercise is relatively large and the body itself cannot withstand the current amount of exercise. It is also closely related to irregular exercise. When body soreness occurs, the best way is to rest or apply hot compresses to relieve body soreness. Generally speaking, this soreness will disappear automatically in three to five days.