1y ago

That erratic pulsating sensation on your legs after a brisk walk- what is it? And more questions

As the title says. I go for a 20 minute walk and when I stop moving, I'm not feeling tired or even agitated at all, yet my legs feel like they're pulsating in different areas, always near the skin. It's not synchronised with my heartbeat. It stops after a few minutes.

Chat GPT says these are just muscle twitches caused by dehydration or lack of electrolytes. I'm not convinced. Why does it feel almost on the skin and not deeper in the muscles? Why do I feel it after a 20 minute walk that doesn't make me sweat but I don't feel it after a 40 minute leg focused workout???? Wouldn't that be more strenuous on the legs?? Does this thing even have a name?

Thanks

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Don't ask medical questions of chat gpt. You may as well shake a magic 8 ball. Your legs are probably fine. Bodies just do weird stuff sometimes
- Meh, ask it whatever, require it cite it's source, then go follow up and verify for yourself
- I know my legs are fine. All I want to know is a name for this sensation and what causes it. Yes, I want to know about the weird stuff the body does, why is it wrong to ask chatGPT or google?
  
  LLMs are stochastic parrots. They just repeat the phrases most often used together in their training data in association with the words on your prompt. It's like seeking medical advice from the predictive text on your phone keyboard.
it's perfectly normal for muscles to twitch after an exercise, and when you get a muscle twitch like that it usually feels like it's near the skin. your muscles are having trouble recovering and it's either because they've been overworked, or you're dehydrated, or you've been taking stimulants, or you've got low magnesium.
- Okay, so you're saying even though I feel it on my skin and not my muscles is still on my muscles. Fair enough. But then why does it happen only with mild activities like walking but not with something more intense?
  
  lol your skin can't move without muscles dude.
  
  I wonder if you're just using different muscles? Like doing a bench press vs an overhead... I would have thought those were all the same muscles, but they are absolutely not!
I know what you’re talking about but I don’t know what it is.
You're not supposed to use your legs for walking. That's wrong.
- I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! I've been deceived all my life!
Have you checked your blood pressure?
- No, I don't have the means. Why would it be the blood pressure?
  
  It's the blood pumping through your arteries. I used to get this even in my teens after very long walks. You're literally just feeling your own pulse as your heart works a bit harder to meet your body's elevated demand for blood/oxygen.
  I'm not sure why it seems to be more apparent after milder activity, but maybe something like walking doesn't dialate your blood vessels so much so there's a bit more pressure at certain points?
  If you want to confirm its your blood vessels and not muscles, check your pulse as it's happening and see if its the same rythmn.
  As far as I know it's normal, since I was in peak physical condition at that age (a lot of athletics, running etc.) but if it seems unusual for you personally I guess bring it up to a doctor.
  
  Many chemists and supermarkets have automated blood pressure check machines. Some are even free.
- "What the fucks a Lommy?"
On leg day do you stretch first, then lift? On walking day do you stretch as well? If that’s “Yes” and “No” try the same warmup on walking day.
Do you have different shoes you wear for each type of activity? Shouldn’t be shock/impact stressors, but if so try wearing the same pair for walking to see if that helps.
Do you have the same drinking pattern during both? Just because you’re not sweating during your waking doesn’t mean that you’re using up fluids. Especially if you’re outside in a much warmer environment vs. inside a moist, humid gym.
Doesn’t sound like blood clots nor (shin) splints, as those are deeper. Nor does it sound like allergies, as that’d be on the skin, from say your laundry detergent, or any grooming lotions and potions.
- That's an interesting point, usually I don't stretch for walking. Often I don't even consider it a fitness activity per se, it's just that I need to walk fast to get somewhere on time. It happens regardless of whatever shoes or clothing I'm wearing
Why do you think it isn't dehydration? I was told muscle spasms were due to dehydration and lack of body salts like magnesium. I'm no doctor, but I might suggest you drink more water.
- Because it seems to happen as a consequence for the movement, and it's consistent. My hydration levels aren't. Regardless of how much or what I've been drinking, of how much I've been sweating, I still feel it. Also note I don't feel it as much after doing an intense workout in which I sweat bullets. And I've never felt it if I've been resting the whole day even though I'm sure I must have been dehydrated occasionally on rest days. Also it feels more like something on the skin and not like a regular muscle spasm.
  That's just why I don't believe it is dehydration, but you could be right, it could be dehydration.🤷🏼‍♀️
  
  Dude just try drinking a big glass of water afterwards and see if it makes a difference. Repeat several times. Think of it as an experiment.
I have never experienced anything like this. Personally I would ask my doctor about it immediately, it sounds very outlandish, walking should not lead to pulsating of any kind
- I've met plenty of people who do experience it, but nobody knows what it is. I even encourage you ask people you know, you'd be surprised. I've never met someone who would be alarmed by it though. But you are right, it is something I should be asking a doctor. I always forget unfortunately
  
  Fair enough, yeah I’ll check back in on the thread too in case someone knows what it is. Very intriguing symptom
  
  I heard it was due to greater blood flow to areas that routinely don't experience that level of flow, kind of like how you really notice the breeze on your face after you shave off your beard. Now, I don't have any proof this is it, but a month or so of regular brisk walks should be enough for your cardiovascular system to adapt to the new requirements, causing the sensation to vastly reduce if not disappear completely.
  
  You might consider taking notes of things to bring up w/ your doctor. As someone who lives in the US, I gotta make the most out of every appointment lol. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try if you have health concerns.
A magnesium deficiency can cause twitching in your legs, but I don’t know if anyone on the internet would be able to help tell if the pulsing sensation is caused by muscles contracting or something else.
If you have decent access to healthcare and it’s bothering you, bring it up with your doctor. It’s unlikely anyone here is qualified to be giving you medical advice. And if they were, they likely wouldn't be comfortable giving a diagnosis based only on a post.
- No, this isn't something bothering me in any other way than making me curious about it. I'm not seeking medical advice, just physiological or biological information about this phenomenon. It doesn't really feel like a twitch in my muscles, it's more like my skin is pulsating. My body doesn't move. It's just a sensation
  
  Could just be vascular flow from the motion. like when you work out hard with a muscle group, the area will gain blood and turn flush for a while.
  
  It's just the spiders under your skin.
  But maybe it's the nerves or capillaries that run through the layers of fat and skin, as walking shakes them up and gets the blood pulsing through. Even in fit people the skin shakes a little as it slides back and forth over the moving muscles. Once you get into a serious workout, there's too much other sensation from the muscles and tendons, and the blood vessels are as busy and hopefully open as they're going to get.
  Bear in mind I have no actual idea, just speculating.
Benign fasciculation. It only used to happen after walking, and in my quads and calves. I swam competitively in division III and never happened in my upper body. I never worried about it. For folks that don't understand the minimal and random nature of the ticks, here's a good video.
https://youtu.be/zX8AzTp_tWc
- That's so interesting, thanks for sharing the link. But in my case, nothing moves. After reading some replies and googling more I'm more inclined to think it's just the capillaries and small arteries delivering blood to the skin with different amounts of delay.
The expansion of your muscles due to increased blood flow and I guess shedding heat.
Maybe it's the same thing I recently had. After running a half marathon in April this year and cycling another 20km from and to the course, I also had some weird muscle cramps when finally taking a rest. It was almost like something was crawling under my skin. My muscles felt like they were cramping together and releasing very quickly and very locally in tiny spots all over my calves. It was such a surreal feeling. Kinda creepy and weird, but at the same time also kinda nice and satisfying.
- I think your experience sounds like the benign fasciculation another lemming described. Look for the video link among the comments

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