please help. PANIC.

i recently started working out again after having completely neglected exercise for like the past three years. i thought it'd be very difficult to get back in shape, but i am pleasantly surprised with my progress so far.

early this morning i did a full body workout and some kickboxing. nothing too advanced. it felt great. i didn't feel like i was injuring anything, but my right leg felt a bit more sore. i figured it is possible i step out with my right leg more often, although i doubt, since i'm ambidextrous and my right side isn't much stronger than the left. anyways.

this evening my right knee and calf felt tight. they look swollen. it's not extreme, but the calf is obviously bigger than the left one. especially the outside of the calf. that part itches too and feels warm and red, but i have been scratching the itch. my ankle and foot look fine (i had a nasty right foot injury this winter, that left the arch of my foot lower than it was. not sure whether that could have something to do with it).

i don't think i've had too much salt. i mostly eat pretty healthy (at least i do now). i am 32, normal weight, history of neuroboreliosis, but pretty healthy now. not on any medication.

i gave up jogging when i had neuroboreliosis because it made my knees hurt and swell. both knees. no itching or redness, or uneven swelling. this feels different.

did i just put too much strain on the leg?

this happens to you folk, right? i'm so friggin scared of C.L.O.T.S. and DVT and cardiovascular stuff in general. i'm terrified.

i will keep the leg elevated and cooled, and see if that helps.

i would hate to slow down or skip my workouts.

do i need to see a doctor?

please tell me this is normal workout sh*t, i'm so done with C-words. it's 2.30 am here and i can't sleep because i have worked myself up with this.

Honestly as I was reading I thought possible clot/dvt or something like that. May be nothing, but if I were you I would go get it checked out anyway. Warm, red, itching...could be cellulitis? IDK, but please go see a medical professional. Don't panic, but do get yourself checked out.

no no no no noooooo noooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jeezus christ. i'll schedule an appointment.

Keep up the icing - no more that ten minutes each time. If the swelling does not go down by Monday, then contact your doctor. Does the area hurt???

Hey I am NOT a medical professional I want to make that clear! Always best to see a doc for peace of mind in situations like this regardless of what any of us say here!

I don't have any knowledge, experience, or advice about this, but just wanted to say that I feel ya! I'm terrified of health issues, as well. A few months ago I thought I felt my heart flutter, which caused an hours-long panic attack during which I was paralyzed with fear and afraid that moving would cause a heart attack. Awful!!! I could tell you many other similar stories, but I'll just say that I never had whatever problem I was stressing over. However, the more you think about it, the more convinced you become. Getting checked by a doctor can actually relieve your mind. It's scary to go, because you think they'll find something awful, but it's usually nothing. Hypochondria is a b*!ch.

The sore muscle accumulate extra water in order to "heal" faster, its part of the process. It goes away.

You should work out both legs equally btw

As another posted stated, My first thought was cellulitis which is a bacterial infection. I'd make an appointment ASAP in order to be started on a treatment plan. Please don't panic, it's treatable.

And, no I'm not a physician.

i know shessofly, i'm thinking i won't be able to get my mind off of it if i leave it unexamined.

holly, no, it doesn't hurt, it just feels a little tight, as in, i can feel the skin is taught against the calf.

coconut, i was hoping it's that...i try to exercise them both equally but sometimes i forget which side i've worked already. it is possible it was the right leg more often. i didn't feel like i was injuring it, but i do realize tiny injuries can pass as soreness and compile over time.

i walked lots today too, carried heavy groceries and did some heavy duty cleaning, but i am usually able to do that with no ill aftereffects.

lostlove i don't usually freak out like this over my health, but the itching, warmth, and that it was localized..it sounded like dvt/clots, like shessofly said.

i'll try to leave legs out of the exercise as much as possible to see if it goes away, but i really don't want a scare like this to go neglected. i'll schedule an appointment either way. this just scares me to no end.

As another posted stated, My first thought was cellulitis which is a bacterial infection. I'd make an appointment ASAP in order to be started on a treatment plan. Please don't panic, it's treatable.

 

And, no I'm not a physician.

Can you get it checked out in the morning, before exercising?

i doubt it, but i can postpone the workout until i've reached the doctor. if there's a c.l.o.t. in there i sure don't want it to move. yikes.

RainyCoast, you don't need to injure it to get it swollen.

"After you workout, your body repairs or replaces damaged muscle fibers through a cellular process where it fuses muscle fibers together to form new muscle protein strands or myofibrils. These repaired myofibrils increase in thickness and number to create muscle hypertrophy".

Your body is healing from the damage the workout causes (and it's suppose to cause it), and in order to heal faster it accumulates water. Sometimes it takes weeks to see it back to normal.

If you tell them that you believe you have a clot, they should work you in.

Good luck, please keep us posted. When I was reading my first thought was DVT/clot. Had a friend experience this recently and it's extremely dangerous. He is older than you but it happened on a trans-Atlantic flight and he actually was in the hospital for it, and missed work for a few weeks! Please let us know what the doctor said - sending prayers!

Could it just be a pulled muscle?

If you tell them that you believe you have a clot, they should work you in.

ooooooh did i tell you about the many many years i was telling them i have a systemic infection and they kept telling me it was all in my head- because i also had ptsd (it was in my head-- it was in my spinal cord, my organs, my blood, deep inside my bones and heck yeah in my brain too), and i had to go out of the country to get diagnosed with NB. i HATE the doctors here. however, i'm thinking if i don't emphasize the exercise bit, they might be less willing to dismiss it as simple exertion. they have a come back if it doesn't go away in 3 weeks policy with everything, and they tell you the same thing after three weeks. gems. i will be persistent though. i know i will feel like a spoiled brat if it turns out it's just from exercise, but i will panic otherwise, especially if i don't see it go down soon. besides, haven't even had my cholesterol and inflammation markers checked in a long time because i avoid the docs like the plague. it would be helpful to know them, especially with these types of concerns.

coconut, but could i really have overworked one leg so much as to cause this? i really really hope so. the thought is so pacifying. so, one would just wait for that to pass then, no special measures other than elevating and cooling it?

i did irish dancing for over a decade and never had it happen...buuuut...i was much younger. i keep forgetting that.

Could it just be a pulled muscle?

i have no idea, i always assumed those would hurt some. do you think it could be, and would it involve the knee?

minesssss, ommmmgggg,,,,, that makes my insides shake just thinking about it...

gah"

I'm no doctor. So I have no idea. But I thought blood clots would present with numbness.

Does your health insurance have a tele option? Like call a nurse/doctor phone line? May be worth a call and they can advise if you need urgent care.

A strain can swell into the surrounding tissue. Honestly, my first thought was a tear in your hamstring tendon. What concerns me is that you in fact aren't feeling pain, and I'm assuming you've experimented with your ranges in motion. Typically, if it's straining or recovery-induced myositis, you'd feel pain from it as well. In any case, don't panic, but I would schedule an appointment with a GP the earliest you can or even go into urgent care just to cover your bases.

You're young and healthy, so try not to spook yourself. The stress won't do you any favors. We all love you though and you'd better keep us updated.

yes, MLD, during office hours. the ER won't consider anything that isn't extreme. but it'll be morning soon anyway, and i'll call first thing when they open. i can't sleep anyway.

it's not numb, yay!! eta, but nope J, it doesn't hurt, so..shucks?

i'm thinking about what coco is saying.

it has also crossed my mind that perhaps the rest of my leg is compensating for the lowered arch of my foot, and thus straining more....i will ask about that too.

i don't want to be the "hysteric over nothing" patient, but it helps me to see a lot of you would feel there could be something more going on there too.

thanks guys. you're very helpful.

i'll update you guys first thing when i've seen the doc, yes.

thanks so much everyone, this really helps. i actually feel much calmer now, and just want to be sure. at least i won't sound hysterical when i speak to them.

I don't have advise to add, just wanted to add to support and on your team. I hope you feel better very soon. The worst part is always the waiting to get a diagnosis. So glad you are going to see a doc soon.

thanks IAG, i felt so bad wanting to have it looked at since it doesn't cause me much discomfort, and swelling after exercise doesn't sound like such a big deal.

i would HATE to take up their time at the ER when there could be code blues and severely injured folk all over the place, and they don't take anyone looking reasonably okay either.

but i will definitely get checked at my gp's after reading this, as soon as they start.