Can Over Stretching Cause A Burning Sensation In Your Legs?

Regular stretching can help keep you flexible and improve your range of motion. It can also relieve stress, improve circulation and help your exercise posture. Stretching should never be uncomfortable or hurt. Over-stretching your leg muscles by forcing them into painful, unnatural positions can cause you to pull or strain them.

Symptoms of Overstretching

Proper stretching should cause tension -- not pain -- in your legs while you hold the stretch. If you feel a burning or spasm-like sensation, you need to relax the stretch to the point where it does not hurt. Other symptoms of over-stretching include sudden, sharp pain or a popping or tearing sensation in the leg muscles. Pain and burning that persists after you stop stretching, especially if accompanied by swelling and bruising, can indicate pulled or torn leg muscles. See your doctor if you cannot bear weight on the leg, experience any numbness in the injured area or if you see red streaks spreading across your leg.

Prevention/Solution

Cold muscles are more susceptible to injury than warm ones. Warm up your muscles before attempting to stretch them by doing light aerobic or cardiovascular activities, like walking or jogging in place. Do not bob or bounce while stretching. This motion can cause small tears in your leg muscles, which can cause scar tissue to form. The scar tissue can make your legs stiff and inflexible. Fitness instructor LaReine Chabut in "Stretching for Dummies" stresses the importance of knowing and building upon your own level of flexibility. Not everybody is capable of the same level of stretching. Relax the stretch as soon as it starts to hurt.

Muscle Strain Treatment

You can usually treat mild cases of muscle strain, which involve slight pain and minimal loss of muscle strength, at home. See your doctor for more severe injuries or if you do not know the extent of your injuries. Take a break from stretching and other types of exercise until your leg pain improves. Apply ice packs for 15 to 20 minutes every two to three hours for the first few days. Wrap your injured leg with a compression bandage or wear compression shorts. Use a cane or crutches to avoid putting too much weight on the injured leg.

Sciatica

Sciatica resulting from the injury to or compression or the sciatic nerve can cause an electric, burning, searing pain that originates in your lower back or buttocks and spreads down your leg. Some common causes include a slipped disk, spinal stenosis or a pelvic injury or fracture. The pain often starts out slowly and worsens after you stand or sit, when you sneeze or cough or at night. Spinal stenosis can cause pain that worsens when you walk more than a few steps or bend backwards. See your doctor for an evaluation so he can determine the underlying cause of your sciatica.