How many of you experience pain after skating lasting for H-O-U-R-S!! Like right now I'm going on 6 hours. My muscles are still burning. I skate now 2 to 3 times per week and go to the gym 2x week. I don't work very hard at the gym . I know that this is supposed to be a sign that I'm working too hard but come on!!!! I only skate for a stinking hour at a time!! And I know I'm over 40 but again, come on!!!

This has been going on for years now. I've been to rheumatologists. physical therapists, and no underlying medical reason. (Thank God) Some weeks I'm fine and well.. like today I just want to go to bed. I do have a positve ANA factor in my blood but no diagnosis of arthritis. And I have low bone mass. Blah, blah, blah.

Just want to know what all of your experiences are like with this!!

Me me!!! I occasionally feel stiff or hip pains after skating for an hour --especially when it's winter time (it's much harder to warm up the muscles in the winter time) and when doing a LOT of jumps during that session (known issue.) I find that a nice very warm shower (jacuzzi is best though) and maybe some Epsom salts does help relieve the muscles a bit.

I also (try to) spread out my skating sessions and my gym workout session so I either do gym or skating but not both on the same day... and I am now forcing myself to take one rest day per week where I do nothing strenuous physically or mentally. If I want to go shopping or goof off at home, I do that. But the point is that it's a "rest day."

Oh, and LOTS of stretching when you are done with your skating at home (or if there's a nice clean empty area to put in a stretching mat at the rink, do the stretching there...)

I don't personally do this myself, but a lot of people do schedule an all body massage once a month to get the kinks out of the system too. Might want to look into that too... that is if you can afford it. (I can't, unfortunately...)

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Thanks jazz - I do all that you suggested. Religously. Except for the jacuzzi and epsom salts thing. I don't have a jacuzzi, some day. Maybe I'll try the epsom salt bath. I hate baths though. I don't do the massage thing either. But I do go to PT and have A.R.T. done too.

Have you tried increasing your protein intake? I mean if your muscles are burning I'd assume that's the problem.

Oh yeah and I was having this muscle ache for days, literally days after skating until somebody on this board suggested bumping up my B complex vitamin intake. Helped tons, as did stretching afterwards.

Makes sense. I'm not a big protein eating person. Or vitamin taker. I'll try the B complex. Can't hurt. The protein.. well.. can't have too much of that. I get kidney stones. (Very,VERY painful )

I wonder if more potassium (bananas are an easy source) and/or more fluid might help?

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I have increased my fluid intake over the past year - due to the kidney stone issue. And in the Am while I skate I drink a sports drink with potasium in it. Maybe it's not enough. I have thought about it though. I really don't like eating bananas. Kind of make me sick. But I know of other foods that contain it. So I'm eating more of those foods too lately.

I'm going to try to increase the fluids a bit more. Took an Advil with dinner and I'm feeling a lot better now. But again, I hate taking anything.

I find that a once-a-month massage really does the trick, but you have to have the right therapist. Some massage therapists will make you feel good while you are on the table, but once you're done, you don't get a lasting effect. I am lucky to work with someone who has really helped with misalignments, etc., in my body and I can say that my hips and neck are definitely a LOT more pain-free than they used to before I started doing this. Also my yoga and pilates practice helps.

I don't know about pain per se - I have mostly stiffness after skating. We were discussing this at the rink the other day - that a lot of us have problems at work - after sitting at a desk for an hour or so, getting up can be very difficult and creaky - whereas our co-workers, mostly couch-potatoes, don't seem to have any trouble walking around or getting up off of their chairs, etc. - one skater said that her co-workers teased her about being an "athelete" - and yet she was limping around her office, etc. -

I don't know what the answer is, but at least we are moving!!!

I like the epsom salts idea. Physical therapy can help too.

I'm wondering how much of the pain we feel is because of the cold and damp in most of the rinks?

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I was going to suggest that too, but didn't b/c I wasn't sure whether the muscle pain are cramping pains or not. But you can never have too much fluids.

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I find that if I drink a shake of protein powder and a tsp of Glutamine after a work out, my recovery is much faster and I have much less muscle soreness. YMMV. Not sure what whey protein does to kidney stones though. I was under the impression it affects the body differently than animal protein.

LW

I find I only get really stiff occasionally after skating - but oh, after walking in Berlin for several hours a day over the last weekend, I am stiff now! It was awful, whenever I sat down I had trouble getting up and getting going, but once I got going, I was fine - I remembered this from our last city-break in October 2006, too.

As for skating, when I start aching around my rib-cage I know I've worked hard!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

My rib cage aches all of the time - especially when I've been doing a lot of dance! It's nice to know other people have this too!!

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Not sure what whey protein to kidneys either. Not sure I want to find out. I'll look into it though.

In what way is whey protein not animal protein? Doesn't it come from the milk of dairy cows (hence curds and whey = cottage cheese?).

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Do you stretch before and after skating? Do you warm up on the ice?

Kay

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Sounds like you are doing most of the things the books say to do. I assume you have looked up Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Assuming you do the warm up, cool down and stretch thing within a few minutes of the exercise, that isn't supposed to happen, unless you over-exert yourself, don't use progession or use a lot of eccentric muscle patterns, like dropping your leg very slowly. I've put what I found in various sources in

http://www.geocities.com/grunes/falling.html#doms

WRT the warm Jacuzzi, if you have extended inflammation (e.g., DOMS), that isn't usually advised during the first 36-48 hours, if I remember right. Jumping into a cold pool or bath, a few minutes after the exercise, is supposed to be better. Doesn't that sound much more fun?

I have also had pain problems with improper diet before or after hard exercise. (Mentioned at the web page above.) And I once cured a long-term pain with a few days of max advised dosage ibuprofen, though taking it scared me.

Dietary supplements like the joint medicines theoretically only make much sense if there is something wrong with your diet. A pharmacist advised me that if I wanted to try them, to try one with as few supplements at a time as possible. Too many ingredients is asking for trouble.

There is another approach. If if hurts to stop skating, don't. (-: