Muscle Soreness after exercise
We all know that postural muscles get tired and that creates knots. But muscles also get tired after exercises, this is called DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness.
DOMS is characterised by a dull, aching pain in the affected muscle, often combined with tenderness and stiffness. The pain is typically felt only when the muscle is stretched, contracted or put under pressure, but otherwise the muscle feels fine. The soreness usually increases in intensity in the first 24 hours after exercise. It peaks from 24 to 72 hours, then subsides and disappears up to seven days after exercise.
DOMS can be the reason why sporty people feel aches and pains when they are treated if they have recently been pushing themselves when exercising.
Unfortunately stretching or warming up the muscles does not prevent DOMS but gradually increasing the intensity of the exercise does.
If treatment is desired, any measure that increases blood flow to the muscle, such as hot baths, sauna or a massage may help.
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Why do runners to get injured?
While there are many reasons why runner's get injured I want to share with you what I consider the common causes based on what we treat in clinic. Posture I find many clients know they don't have the perfect posture when they sit at their desks but assume their running won't be affected. This is wrong, bad posture carries over into your run which can put extra stress on your back and knees. So its important to focus on good running posture which is upper torso straight with head balanced directly over shoulders and lower back not arched. Training Errors This is the number 1 cause of running injuries. Training errors basically means your are trying to run too much or too far or too quickly for your body. The body needs time to adapt from training changes and jumps in mileage, intensity or changes in terrain. Muscles need recovery time to they can handle more training demands. If you rush the process you break can down rather than build up. Running experts recommend the 10% rule, which means the maximum speed or distance (note I didn't say speed and distance) you increase by each week is 10%. So if you run 10 miles in the first week, you run 11 miles in the second week and so on. RICE - Rest,Ice, Compression and Elevation All of my clients know rice. However I find too many runners focus on the I (ice), and ignore the RCE. So they tend to get stuck in a cycle of ice-and-run, ice-and-run etc without giving the muscles time to heal. Its like dieting every day until 7pm and then pigging out at the all your can eat buffet! Remember the R in RICE means rest, i.e. don't run until the injury is better.
Can aromatherapy help people combat depression?
Nearly 20% of people in the UK experience symptoms of anxiey or depression in 2014 according the Mental Health Foundation. A systemic review of five medical databases has found evidence to support the effictiveness of aromatherapy for alleviating depressive symptoms. A team of scientists at the Hong Kong Polytechnic Univeristy found 12 randomiased controlled trials involving a total of 1,226 participants - 984 were female and 224 male, with an average age of 47. Two of the five inhalation studies and five of the eight massage trails reported improvements in subjects conditions, with the aromatherapy massage found to be more effective. So if you feel depressed why not try and aromatherapy massage. Note: Vitality Therapy do not offer aromatherapy massage. References
Mental Health Foundation. (2016) Fundamental Facts About Mental Health 2016. London: Mental Health Foundation.Sánchez-Vidaña DI, Ngai SP, He W, Chow JK, Lau BW, Tsang HW. (2017) The effectiveness of aromatherapy for depressive symptoms: a systematic review. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
