lower leg pain

Yesterday I took a day off due to lower leg pain. This morning I felt pretty good so I tried to do a 15 minute cardio on MFC, I couldn't even do 10 minutes.

My lower outer leg (both outer) half way between the largest part of the calf muscle and my ankle is swollen and sore (not to the touch) just when I stand or exercise.

I know I've read that if you feel pain STOP. So I did, but I don't know if it is normal muscle building pain or if I did more damage. Has anyone else experienced this? How long did you wait before exercising again?

Disclaimer - I'm not a doctor or physicl therapist.

Definitely stop exercising until the pain goes away.

Some information on how to treat swelling: http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Swelling

Article on muscle soreness: http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/good_muscle_soreness.html

It is relatively easy to tell the difference between DOMS and an impending injury. DOMS is usually symmetrical, involving muscles equally on both sides of your body. An injury is more likely to cause pain that is only on one side. DOMS does not feel worse as you exercise at light intensity. An injury worsens with continued use of the injured part. Stop exercising when you have an injury.

An article on Sprains and Strains: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuries/a/sprains.htm


Give it some time (amount is up to you, maybe a week?). If the pain persists, you might want to see a doctor.

p.s. sorry to hear about the pain (whether it's soreness or an injury). It's never fun.

thanks for the info

Again, I'm not a doctor, but the more I think about it, it is really a weird place to experience regular old muscle soreness, especially if that's the only soreness you're seeing.

I can see how something like this could happen using MFC. There is a lot of side-to-side movements that could put too much stress on that area of one's leg.

So I would lean toward it being an injury of some sort. However, if it were really serious, I think you would know it.

If I were in your situation, and the pain was not so severe, I would ice it frequently to try to get the swelling down and take it easy for a week and see how it felt then. Otherwise, if I felt the pain was severe, I would see a doctor.