Aggravated Muscle Strain

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Dear Dr.

Hello.

I’m happy to join this forum, and I hope it helps me in some way.

I’m a 49-year old female, and I’m currently coping with a problem which is really worrying me more and more.

I used to jog, and about 3 months ago (on May the 18th), after running 10km, I had a muscle strain.

I must say that I was shocked about its effects on my body (or on my legs), and I wasn’t initially aware of what this was.

For that reason, I never applied the common method that is recommended for this this, known as RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and

However, I went to the doctor who said that I had just had a muscle strain, and it was something not to be worried about, since it would pass on its own.

Indeed, about a week later, I started feeling better, and I could resume my usual activities.

But unfortunately, I never asked the doctor how long I should have waited before I restarted running.

So, about 3 weeks after the first muscle strain, I got another one, and because I also used to walk a lot, my condition deteriorated even more about a week later.

As a consequence, I have hardly been able to leave the house since June the 19th.

Despite, I don’t feel I have got much better. (My recovery hasn’t been progressive either, and some weeks I feel better than others.)

I am now absolutely terrified that I may never recover from this.

To make things worse, I have kept losing muscle mass due to my inactivity.
By May 18th, I weighed 57.8kg; and now I weigh 54.1kg (plus, I’m sure all the loss has been in muscle mass, and not fat).

I will now start taking some Magnesium supplements which are said to give benefits to the muscles.

Before this happened, I used to feel comfortable walking distances up to 10 km.
(I had walked at very most 24km, and ran 12km.)

I would be happy if I could walk up to 5km (since I consider this the minimum in order to run any errands), and I wouldn’t care so much if I don’t ever run again.

So, what suggestions could you give me to try to overcome this?

Should I increase my usual calorie intake in order to put on muscle? (And if so, by how much?)

With my best regards,
worried woman

2

My advice would be take it easy. I once broke my feet and lost a quiet amount of muscle due to inactivity and was feeling weak. What helped was physical therapy. if you can find a therapist, he might help significantly by giving some gentle stretching exercises and massage. Meanwhile, at home you can start with heat therapy. It can help with the muscular pain. Usually a piece of warm towel wrapped around your leg can make the trick. If you feel the inflammation is still present, i would advice ice to reduce swelling. About your muscles loss, i would advice for increasing your proteins intakes.
I wish you a good recovery and i repeat take it easy. Your muscles might be still recovering. Don’t overwork them as it could worsen your injury.
kind regards,

3

Eat healthy and exercise. Putting on muscles has pros and cons. Just do what you think it best.