Ever started a run and a few minutes into it, you start to experience an itchy sensation all over your legs, and it's so overwhelming that you have to stop running to scratch?
Fact is, as your heart rate increases, blood flows faster, and the millions of tiny capillaries and arteries in your muscles begin to expand rapidly.
These capillaries stay open to allow for maximum blood passage when you're fit, but if you're out of shape, your capillaries tend to collapse, not allowing as much blood to pass through.
When your capillaries expand, the surrounding nerves become stimulated and send messages to the brain, which reads the sensation you get as itching.
Unfortunately, your itchy legs are the price paid for falling off the exercise wagon. So if you want to prevent itchy legs, keep up with your regular exercise routine.
Just like a red face or bulging veins during exercise, itchy legs are no cause for alarm, unless the itch is accompanied by swelling.
Exercise-induced urticaria is in a sense an allergy to exercise, and if you're also experiencing stomach cramps, swelling of the face or tongue, or difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately.
Now you know theres no cause for alarm but just to be on the safe side, stick to your exercise routines.
Exercise Induced Pruritus was written by our foremost Dr. LB Basaru. You can follow him on Social media.
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