How can Sports Massage help Runners?
I may be biased but I believe sports massage should be part of every runner’s training program. Sports massage offers runners three benefits
- Performance enhancement
- Injury Prevention
- Injury Rehabilitation
Performance enhancement
Tight muscles can have poor circulation and get inhibited. Inflexibility linked to muscle tightness can problems with movement patters and/or lack of strength, which can prohibit efficient training and performance.
Injury Prevention
Tightness can be a cause of muscle strains. Chronic tightness can cause inflammation resulting in
- Back and shoulder problems
- ITB syndrome
- Shin splints
- Achilles problems
- Plantar fasciitis
Injury Rehabilitation
Scar tissue which will develop as the injured muscle heals. Scar tissue causes pain and limits a runners range for motion. When sports massage is teamed with other medical intervention, it provides a faster recovery by breaking down scar tissue.
Related Posts
Bowel health checklist
The basis of our health and wellbeing is our guts ability to digest what we eat and absorb all the nutrients. However it is common for people to have digestive issues such as gas, bloating, food intolerances and IBS. Given the guts importance to wellbeing, I would like to focus on digestion and guts in the next few articles which will include tips for healthy stomachs, large intestine and small intestine. Lets start with talking about bowels. Your bowel movements reflect both your lifestyle and gut health. So how should you judge your bowel movements:
- There should be no discomfort or straining when you go to the loo, and no smell of gas.
- Stools should come out easily, smoothly and all in one piece.
- Stools should be 10 - 15 cm long, medium brown in colur and shouldn't be smelly, stick to the lavoratory bowl or float.
- If your stool floats it could be due to too much fat or gas in your diet - usually from excess sugar, fizzy drinks or beans.
- A very smelly stool can be a sign of undigested food or waster that has been sitting in your bowel for a long time. It can also be a sign of poor absorbtions or lactose intolerance. If your stool is smelly and looks greasy it may be a sign of coeliac disease so you need to book a check up with your doctor.
- Going to the toilet 2 -3 times a day is optimal but anything from 2 - 3 times per day to 2 - 3 times per weeks in normal.
- Any changes to your normal pattern should be reported to your doctor.
How do you look after your bones if you are dairy free?
We all know our bones need calcium and normally we get this from diary. But more and more people are going dairy free for a variety of reasons including following specific diets. The UK's National Osteoporosis Society surveyed 2,000 adults found that one in five of those aged between 18 - 25 had cut diary from their diets. As a result they could be putting their bone health at risk and could end up with osteoporosis in older age, the society has warned. But diary isn't necessary for achieving bone health, says Viva the animal rights group. Instead,
- weight bearing exercise such as walking
- climbing stairs
- dancing
- dark green leafy vegatables
- broccoli
- kale
- spring greens
- cabbage
- pak choi
- dried fruits
- nuts
- seeds
- pulses
Top tips for preventing sports injuries
Many sports injuries occur because people don't know how to prevent them. Here are some tips to help prevent injuries:
- Always wear the correct gear. Players should always wear appropriate and properly fitted protective sports gear such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and/or eye wear.
- Increase muscle strength.
- Increase flexibility. Stretch!
- Use the proper technique.
- Take rests.
- Follow the rules of your sport and play safe.
- Stop the activity if there is pain.
- Keep hydrated.
