Really sore quads after hiking

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Okapi42
Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all, I'm hoping some of you might have a good tip for me. Long story short, we got lost hiking on Saturday (or rather, we were going the right way, but the path no longer existed!) and ended up doing a three-hour scramble over talus hidden in bracken down a steep slope to get to the road before dark.

Two days later, my thighs and knees are still in agony, especially the right, especially up or down slopes. I suspect it's my quads that took damage during that descent.

I've been taking ibuprofen, but it's not doing as much as I'd hoped, and I really need to get back to being able to walk (and climb stairs!) again for work - I'm a ranger, so it's mostly active and outdoor.

Any tips? And any tips on how to prevent this in future? I use hiking poles to reduce strain and have fairly decent quads to begin with from walking/cycling, so I thought I was doing everything right...

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  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    Hiking uses different muscle movements than walking and cycling, so it's no suprise that you are getting DOMS as a result. Light exercise and stretching are going to be your best bets for relieving the muscle soreness. Muscle massage might help as well. It should go away after a few days as the muscle repairs itself. As for preventing it in the future, the only realy method is to work the muscles regularly so that they are prepared. More hiking and/or squat type exercises will probably be your best bets.

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