Leg muscle pain can arise from a variety of causes including bruises, cramps, exercise-induced muscle soreness or fibromyalgia. Performing stretching and strengthening exercises that target the affected muscle or muscles may help ease the pain, especially if you do them regularly. Consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program, however, to determine the most appropriate treatment protocol.
Calf Exercises
The gastrocnemius is the most prominent calf muscle, with the soleus lying underneath. These muscles act to lift your heel, often called ankle extension or plantar flexion. You can stretch and strengthen the calves by performing heel raises on top of a platform or step. Step on the edge of the platform with the front of your feet and hold onto a nearby object to keep your balance. Allow your heels to lower off the edge of the platform as far as possible to stretch your calves, then powerfully extend your ankles, causing your calves to contract powerfully. Repeat the exercise multiple times.
Groin Exercises
The groin area contains the adductor brevis, adductor longus, adductor magnus and gracilis muscles, which pull your legs together when they're spread apart. A pull or strain in one or more of these muscles may occur when you move laterally at a quick pace, like a basketball defender. Perform the butterfly exercise to stretch the groin muscles; sit with the bottoms of your feet together in front of your torso and press your knees apart until you feel a gentle stretch through your inner thighs. Spread your legs apart and bring them back together against external resistance, using manual resistance or a weight machine, to strengthen your groin.
Hamstring Exercises
Performing hamstring exercises may help relieve pain caused by hamstring muscle pulls or any other injury to the back of your thighs. Stretch the hamstrings by bending forward at the waist from a seated or standing position with your legs fully extended, or by lying on your back and pulling one leg at a time toward your head. Do leg curls and squats regularly to strengthen the hamstrings. Perform leg curls by flexing and extending your knees against external resistance. Perform squats by flexing your hips and knees, like you're sitting in a chair, and then standing back up.
Quadriceps Exercises
The quadriceps, located on the front of your thighs, are subject to pain due to bruises, especially if you play contact sports, and muscle strains. Stretching the quadriceps to help alleviate pain involves flexing your knees as far as is comfortable. You can do this from a standing position or while lying on the opposite side of the leg you're stretching. Strengthening the quadriceps requires extending and flexing your knees against external resistance. Performing exercises such as leg extensions, leg presses, lunges, squats and step-ups meets these criteria. Progressively increase the resistance as your pain decreases.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Leg Pain
- "Essentials of Athletic Injury Management"; William E. Prentice; 2008
- "Basic Biomechanics"; Susan J. Hall; 2007
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; Thomas R. Baechle and Roger W. Earle; 2000
- ExRx.net: Lever Seated Hip Adduction
