Trouble running after a few weeks off

[refnrev]

Ended my HS basketball season several weeks ago. Had about a month of MS V'ball then about a month off. I walked regularly and jogged a little in the off time. When fall soccer and then basketball season ended I was getting up and down the field and court with no problems at all. Now my Spring soccer season started last Monday and I have been so stiff and my knees have been so sore (I have arthritis in both) and my lower back so tight that I'm running so much slower than normal. I can ususally keep up with the HS boys without working too hard, but am working hard just to keep pace with the girls. Also I am so stiff and sore afterwards. I've never had this happen before. Have any of you? Any suggestions or thoughts? I'm real concerned!

[Texas Aggie]

2 things: 1. Stretch. Speed in general is a function of flexibility (which explains why I bring up the rear in several activities!); 2. Ease into the jogging with longer periods of run/walk. Do a 10 minute easy walk warm up, followed by, say, 10 more minutes of brisk pace walking. Then, ease into a 30 second run/jog, followed by 2-5 minutes of walking, and repeat this several times. After about 45 minutes of being out, backtrack into a 10 minute warm down easy walk.

Do the stretching AFTER the walk/run. Your body is warm and doing it before does you no good.

[BearBoy]

Welcome to "old age"....refnrev

Have you tried Glucosamine Chondroitin (triple strength)?

Take care.....

[tjones1]

I worked an All-Star game last Tuesday after about a month off. I was trail, becoming the new lead (one of the first changes in the game) and my body knew where to go but my legs didn't want to take me there. Almost fell flat on my face, but I was able to recover and get going. It made me laugh to myself after I had recovered and got down the floor.

[Mark Dexter]

NSAIDs can be a godsend for some people.

If meds and stretching don't do it yet, you may want to see a doctor or a trainer - see if they can give you some different stretches or diagnose a more serious problem.

[TRef21]

Originally Posted by refnrev

Ended my HS basketball season several weeks ago. Had about a month of MS V'ball then about a month off. I walked regularly and jogged a little in the off time. When fall soccer and then basketball season ended I was getting up and down the field and court with no problems at all. Now my Spring soccer season started last Monday and I have been so stiff and my knees have been so sore (I have arthritis in both) and my lower back so tight that I'm running so much slower than normal. I can ususally keep up with the HS boys without working too hard, but am working hard just to keep pace with the girls. Also I am so stiff and sore afterwards. I've never had this happen before. Have any of you? Any suggestions or thoughts? I'm real concerned!

I don't think it's a serious problem. Problem just has to with age and the different sports you are working. Volleyball can put a lot of pressure on knee's since you are standing so long, top it off with arthritis, I would be surprised with if you didn't feel anything. You hit the nail on the head on the head when you said you can keep with the boys. Exactly you aren't work hard. You body is use to work load in boys game but when the girls come you work harder which the body is used to yet especially knee's since more movements are being made more frequent than in a boys game.

I would recommend stretch, do some warm up before the game( jog, sprint) up and down the endline. I officiate high school and college basketball and do that before we tip off. I also take some IB profen 2 tablets. I'm only 21 but take just incase something does happen I can minimize pain. I have a bad right ankle and wear braces on both for some protection. IB profen helps me. You may want to try that. For you lower back, you may want to some stretching and lunges if you can to loosen it up. Hope this helps.

[jkjenning]

Get a copy of "Pain Free" by Pete Egoscue.

Before a game:
1. straight leg toe walk
2. straight leg heel walk
3. straight leg march
4. forward/backward lunges
then light stretching [stretch longer post-game] and run some sprints - it doesn't sound like you've been off the court so long that better warm-ups wouldn't resolve a lot of what you describe.

[rainmaker]

Hey, refnrev, us oldsters have to really put a lot more into our hobby in order to stick to it, eh? Here are some things I've done that seem to help.

When you first wake up in the morning, get up and get moving. Start gradually, and increase the intensity for about the first hour you're awake. DON"T SIT DOWN for more than 5 minutes. Normal activities are sufficient as long as they involve motion. Dressing, showering, tidying, preparing to go to work, etc. Continue to move everything as much as possible.

Throughout the day, get up and move every part of your body for at least 5 to 10 minutes every hour. If you don't have something really active to do, just do low level stretching-type exercises, without any real push. Gently twist and turn your torso, rotate your arms, bend and reach your legs and knees, etc.

As others have said, add more stretching to your run/walk work-outs. Start very gently before you're warmed up, and then as the work-out continues, add more and more exertion to the stretching, but never stretch to the point of discomfort. Do more stretching at the end of the work-out, and be sure to "cool down" adequately, especially after games.

If you do a lot of sitting during the day, develop a schedule of sitting in different positions. Hunch over for five minutes, sit up military straight for five minutes, sit slightly sideways, raise and lower your chair, etc. This helps your back muscles continue working and not get too relaxed. It helps develop a low-level stamina.

Add a period of relaxation to your warm up before your work-out, and to your cool-down. One or two minutes of directed relaxation exercise really, really cuts back on the stiffness later on.

Short afternoon naps can help if you do some relaxation and motion activities when you first wake up. At least, that's the excuse I use for my naps!

[jjonahj]

I run into this every year. You must stretch the stiff areas at least once per day even when doing lots of games. I stretch (No weights) sometimes twice a day.