# Muscle soreness after a long hike downhill **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478 "2017-09-04T15:18:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/1 "2017-09-04T15:18:12Z")
I’m not seeking medical advice, you are not my doctor etc. I’m trying to understand the underlying mechanism involved. Last Thursday I went on a 3 mile hike. I took a tram up to the top of a local mountain and proceeded to walk down on a very steep trail to the bottom. The hike took a little over 2 hours. I haven’t done a hike like this is quite a while and I expected my calves and quads to be pretty sore after it was all said and done. When I completely the hike my legs felt fine, no pain whatsoever, and it wasn’t until the next day that I noticed some soreness, but I had no problem walking up and down stairs. The following day I could barely walk I was so sore, and walking down stairs was nearly impossible. The following day I was still very sore, but I tried to keep moving as best I could. So why was there a 2 day delay in the pain? Whatever damage was done happened on day 1, and there was no pain at that time. Day 2 there was some pain, but really not that much. By day 3 I could hardly walk. Did it really take 3 days for my muscles to produce the lactic acid that was causing the pain? It’s now day 5 and things are pretty much back to normal, which I assume means the lactic acid has been flushed from my system. Is this a fairly normal progression based on the level of activity involved? ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/2 "2017-09-04T15:29:24Z")
As you age, the time it takes your body to respond changes. Oh, and it takes slightly different muscles to walk downhill, than up hill. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/3 "2017-09-04T15:35:11Z")
[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_onset_muscle_soreness) > [@](#): > > The mechanism of delayed onset muscle soreness is not completely understood, but the pain is ultimately thought to be a result of microtrauma – mechanical damage at a very small scale – to the muscles being exercised. > > An earlier theory posited that DOMS is connected to the build-up of lactic acid in the blood, which was thought to continue being produced following exercise. This build-up of lactic acid was thought to be a toxic metabolic waste product that caused the perception of pain at a delayed stage. This theory has been largely rejected, as concentric contractions which also produce lactic acid have been unable to cause DOMS. Additionally, lactic acid is known from multiple studies to return to normal levels within one hour of exercise, and therefore cannot cause the pain that occurs much later. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/4 "2017-09-04T15:37:44Z")
^ Shouldn’t we be hearing from **hiking coach**? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/5 "2017-09-04T15:39:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Shouldn’t we be hearing from **hiking coach**? 🙂 He walked away from the boards years ago. You don’t remember? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/6 "2017-09-04T17:11:16Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > As you age, the time it takes your body to respond changes. > > Oh, and it takes slightly different muscles to walk downhill, than up hill. I regularly see this in younger people, too. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/7 "2017-09-04T18:27:04Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > . . . Oh, and it takes slightly different muscles to walk downhill, than up hill. That’s f’sure! I remember the aches in the front of my shins after walking down the long, steep trail to the bottom of Carlsbad Caverns. I was sore in places I was not at all accustomed to! And, yeah, it takes a little time for that soreness to develop. You don’t always feel the pain from exercise immediately. One thing I’ve found about going downhill: with each step, you sort of “hover” and then lower yourself to the next footing. This “letting yourself drop” effect can be really wearying on the knees. I dread steep descents no less than steep climbs: give me a moderate slope, either way, please! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/8 "2017-09-04T18:34:22Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I regularly see this in younger people, too. He’s partly right. While everyone can experience DOMS, the older you get, the longer recovery takes. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/9 "2017-09-04T19:26:41Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > Oh, and it takes slightly different muscles to walk downhill, than up hill. Try walking _uphill backwards_ (even a very gentle slope). I’ve tried a bit of this while hiking, and I’ve seen others doing it too. It _definitely_ exercises a different set of muscles way more than those muscles are accustomed to! It’s noticeably more difficult and those muscles get real tired real fast. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/10 "2017-09-04T20:26:28Z")
I’ve always experienced the greatest pain from intense exercise the day after the day after. Even when I was a spritely young thing, so don’t worry…perfectly normal. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/11 "2017-09-04T21:58:42Z")
Thank everyone. I’ll chalk it up to live and learn, and won’t take on these long downhill hikes without doing some training for them before hand. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-soreness-after-a-long-hike-downhill/795478/12 "2017-09-04T22:08:17Z")
Hey, everyone, Voice of Doom, here. Two words for you: shin splints. Not fun. Don’t really understand them.