Do You Get Unusually Sore Muscles?

[Lauren78]

Hi all. I have a question about sore muscles and working out. When I work out at the gym, especially a new exercise or muscle group, my muscles and joints get VERY sore. Not the typical sore from a new workout, as my fiance' points out, but I can barely more without searing pain sore. And I don't do heavy weights either. I worked my triceps out a while back and hurt the muscle and elbow joint so badly I was in a brace for 4 weeks because I couldn't even bend it. When I work out my legs (after taking time off) they are so sore it's tough to walk. As long as I keep working out 2-3 times a week I am fine and it doesn't happen...but if I miss any time, which as you all know with fatigue and dizziness it's not possible to keep a consistent schedule...then I am super sore all over again.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this a POTS thing, or should I be concerned it may be something else?

Thanks!

[flop]

Hi Lauren,

obviously as with any new symptom only seeing your doctor will get you a full exam and hopefully an answer or reasurance. From what you've said about the muscle pain being worse when you exercise a new group of muscles or go back to the gym after missing sessions it sounds like it may be muscle strain. When you over exert a muscle group you can cause micro-tears to the fibers of the muscle, this can be really painful and take weeks to settle back down - not just like having an excess of lactic acid in your body after a hard work out that can cause you to be stiff for a couple of days.

Personally I was advised by my cardiologist to avoid all weights work, especially as lifting can cause your BP to drop. I guess that if you have missed a session the best thing to try may be to reduce the amount of weight that you are using and also decrease the number of reps that you do then gradually build back up to your previous levels. If that doesn't prevent the problem then back to my above statement of get it checked out.

Flop

[Lauren78]

I was thinking microtear, but it just seems like my muscles get fatigued easier than "healthy" people. When my friends or family members have the same type of routine as me, even with the on again and off again, none of them get as sore or tired as I do. I always use such a low amount of weight that the resulting pain seems ridiculous

I didn't realize that lifting weights can lower your blood pressure. Makes sense I guess. Kind of a catch 22 since exercise is supposed to help POTS, but at the same time can cause symptoms to flare, huh?!

Thanks for your information. It seems silly to go to the doctor, but maybe I should. I went when my arm got hurt and he said there was really nothing he could do, to just take it easy and watch the weight I use. He said it was a small amount to cause such pain, but had no explanation (this was before being diagnosed with POTS...which is why I was curious as to whether or not this was a POTS thing...if others experienced unusual muscle pain or fatigue when working out).

[flop]

Lauren,

I certainly get excessively fatigued after exercising. At the moment the limit of my exercise is a few laps of the swimming pool. I used to swim competitively and thought nothing of doing a "gentle" 200 lap session. When I went for the first time recently I swam 20 laps and as a result ended up in bed / flat out on the sofa for 4 days! Now I limit myself to 6-8 laps and am hoping to gradually build this up.

I'm not well enough to consider trying weight training but my cardiologist did advise me not to do weights and to avoid carrying things like even grocery bags as it can crash my BP. I think that there are some type of static exercises that are supposed to be beneficial in POTS, doing a search of the forum for "exercise" will porbably bring up quite a few threads for you to read.

Hope the aching goes away soon,

Flop

[yogini]

My calf muscles feel extremely sore sometimes after exercising, but I don't feel sore all over. Weights make my POTS worse too - I can only use low weight dumbells when sitting or lying on the floor. It might make sense to try a lighter exercise and see if the pain goes away.

[calypso]

I get pretty sore since developing POTS, and I think it's because I lost a lot of muscle mass in the early stages of illness. So now, I have less muscle doing all the work, and it gets taxed easily. I also notice my joints are very sore when I work out because I have less muscle there to support them. Still, I'd rather be sore than weak!

Amy

[Ernie]

Hi,

I have sore muscle and sore joints. It is like my muscle will ripe apart and sometimes like they are on fire.

[Michelle Sawicki]

My muscles get sore very easily and there is not a day that one of them isn't hurting. Simple things like cleaning or gardening leave me sore, sore, sore.

Michelle

[ellen]

I also have persistent muscle soreness.

I do LIGHT exercise at Curves and always feel it the next day, even though I have been a member for years. But if I don't exercise, I feel so weak, the weakness is worse than the soreness.

I think it may be fibromyalgia, but have not asked my doctor about it. Anyway, you are not alone.

[MightyMouse]

Always-- mine may be due, though, to having EDS (might be Michelle's issue too). I have muscle and joint pain every day and can't recall EVER having a day when something didn't hurt--even as a child.