Expert: Ken Alan - 11/28/2009

Question
Hi Ken,

I have a strange issue for which I have seen my regular physician who then referred me to a chiropractor but to no avail. Before I go into the explanation, here is some information about me;

28yr old male, 5'5", 130lbs., athletic, eats somewhat healthy, don't consume sugary drinks except orange juice, non-smoker, casual drinker.

A year ago, I started doing intense cardio exercising. Initially, it was 45 minutes on the Eliptical machine and recently it is a one-hour group cardio kickboxing class, both of which are intense cardio exercises. As a result of this, I have started having this pain in my legs and the best way to describe is as follows:

The pain is definitely not soreness in the legs from an intense workout and its not too numbing that I cant walk. Its somewhere in the middle and I don't think its down to my bones. My physician suggested to reduce the intensity of my cardio and the chiropractor simply said I should take anti-inflammatory drugs to get rid of the pain. The one thing I realized that I wasn't doing enough was leg stretching exercises so lately I have started stretching my legs every day before going to bed.

I did some research myself and think that it may be Restless Leg Syndrome however I'm not sure. Do you by any chance have an idea of what's causing this pain? Do you think it will help if I get Xrays/MRI of my legs done?
 
Thank you in advance,
-Ashish

Answer
Glad to hear you're motivated to workout.  Unfortunate to have this discomfort you're feeling in your legs though.  It's not possible to determine what is the cause of the pain you're experiencing.  Did it begin when you added kickboxing to your mix?  Did you have it when you did only the elliptical machine for your exercise?  Do you feel it all the time or at specific times, like at night, or after the workout, or in the mornings?

Stretching is always a good idea.  I'd suggest a little bit before each workout, and more importantly to stretch a whole lot after every workout, as that is when you get the most benefit from it.  If tight muscles are a contributor to the pain you experience, stretching will eventually minimize that occurrence.
Hope this helps.