Swelling and stiffness in calves after running

Running is a sport that modern people are very keen on. It not only exercises the body, but also allows people to relax their mind and body and feel the beauty of life during the running process. However, although running has many benefits, some people will experience adverse reactions after running, such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and even swollen and hard calves. So what causes calf swelling? The following describes the elimination method.

A runner said: I have been running for more than half a year. After running 8 kilometers each time, sometimes after resting for half a day after running, my calves will be swollen, which usually disappears on its own after resting for two days. Later I went to the hospital for a check-up and all indicators were normal. What was going on?

First: How to judge whether the calf is swollen and hard

Edema, also known as swelling, refers to the accumulation of excessive body fluid in the tissue spaces outside blood vessels. The method to judge whether there is edema is as follows: the skin itself has a certain degree of elasticity. If it does not recover immediately when you press it with your hand and then release it, and continues to sag, it is edema. It is also very simple to distinguish edematous legs, muscular legs, and fat legs: legs that feel very hard are muscular legs, legs that feel very soft are fat legs, and edematous legs will not bounce back immediately when pressed.

Second: What are the possible causes of swelling after running?

1. Clothes are too tight: In fact, tight clothes do not have much effect on reducing wind resistance. On the contrary, some people's tight shorts are too tight, which will leave marks on the thighs after running for a long time, which can easily cause lower limb edema.

2. If you take painkillers, steroids, birth control pills or certain antihypertensive drugs before running, they may also cause edema, but improvement will be seen after stopping the medication (women may also experience edema before and after menstruation).

3. If the heart, liver, kidney and endocrine examinations are normal, then the cause of leg edema may also be dietary imbalance and nutrient deficiency. For example, insufficient calcium intake can affect nerve transmission and even cause muscle cramps, aggravating the swelling of the legs and feet; if the sodium intake in the diet is too high, it will cause an imbalance in osmotic pressure inside and outside the capillaries, causing high blood pressure and lower limb edema. Moderate consumption of potassium-rich foods such as bananas, tomatoes, etc. can balance the pressure inside and outside the cells and replace excess sodium ions. Reduce the occurrence of edema.

4. If the body already has a disease, such as heart disease, blood will not easily flow back to the heart from the lower limbs and will accumulate in the lower limbs, causing edema. Or if there is a liver disease, due to insufficient liver function and insufficient protein synthesis, the colloid pressure in the blood vessels is insufficient, which will cause edema. Or when kidney function declines, problems with the excretion of water and salt occur. These are common causes of edema caused by kidney disease, but the edema caused by kidney disease is often systemic.

Third: How can I eliminate the swelling?

1. Soak your feet to eliminate edema

Soak your feet in hot water at about 40℃. The water should be at least higher than your ankles, and preferably reach your calves. At the same time, you can add ginger to hot water to warm the body and help eliminate edema. You can also massage your legs with ginger while soaking your feet to further enhance the effect of eliminating edema.

2. Lift your feet to eliminate swelling

Every night before going to bed, raise your feet against the wall so that your upper body and legs are at 90 degrees, and keep your feet raised for 20 minutes. It can help the blood and lymph fluid that are stagnant in the toes flow back toward the heart, eliminating edema. If you find this too strenuous, you can also put a pillow under your feet to slightly elevate your feet when you sleep.

3. Massage to eliminate swelling

(1) Sit down, raise your legs, cover your thighs with your hands, and press gently to your knees. Do this 5 times, then press gently from your calves to your ankles 5 times, and then gently press back to your thighs.

(2) Use your fingers to gently press your ankle, then slowly move to your calf, repeat 5 times in total.

(3) Wrap the soles of your feet with your palms and press back and forth 5 times.

(4) Use the base of your hands to wrap around your calves and slowly press upwards to the top of your thighs. Repeat 5 times.

(5) In addition, cycling in the air, doing handstands, etc. can also promote the circulation of body fluids and effectively eliminate edema.

4. Diet to eliminate edema

One of the main causes of edema is the retention of sodium salt in the body. Therefore, if you usually eat heavy flavors, you might as well take in more "potassium salt" while adjusting your diet. Use foods rich in potassium such as seaweed, potatoes, spinach, bananas, etc. to excrete water.

In normal times, you should reduce your intake of foods that are susceptible to cold, cold drinks, or foods that increase the burden on the stomach, which will make your stomach tired and cause water to be retained in the body. You should also reduce your food intake at night, and it is best not to eat midnight snacks to reduce the intake of large amounts of water.