Preparation and Recovery Massage
Most athletes during the preparation phase and the lead up to an event, book regular sports massages. Sport specific massages pre event have lots of benefits which include relaxation, an increased range of movement , increased flexibility, maximised performance, recovery and, most importantly, the reduced risk of injury.
However, the post event recovery is so often overlooked or possibly not fully understood, despite the fact it holds the same importance in terms of our bodies and allowing them to prepare as well as recover. Athletes invest so much time and money into the preparation phase of an event, which can include training, nutrition, supplements and massage to name a few. Preparing our bodies correctly for an event is important as it reduces the risk of injury and physically prepares our muscles for what's to come. Most athletes understand and 100% commit to the preparation phase as a lot of emphasis is placed on this phase to get us race ready, and to help us achieve our goals. Sadly the same emphasis is not placed on the recovery phase which I feel is just as important. Lets take a closer look at the recovery phase....
During the recovery phase we want to promote gentle movement post an event, this can include a bike ride, swim , light hike or even aqua jogging. A post event massage within a week of your event is hugely beneficial as it aims to increase the body's rate of recovery by reducing inflammation in the muscles. It also aims to increase vascular and lymphatic activity, aiding our bodies natural process of removing waste products after exercise, such as lactic acid.
Coaches worldwide encourage a 2-3 week break from structured training post an endurance event. Light active recovery exercise is the order of the day. It is however easier said than done, as you will feel amazing after an ironman, a marathon or an ultra distance event but let’s understand that those are the endorphins talking. When we embark on the recovery phase its important to remember that when we do any activity our heart rates should stay in the recovery zone!
During recovery, cells repair the microscopic tears sustained during exercise. They replicate, mature and fuse to the damaged muscle fibres, forming a new muscle protein that increases the size and strength of the muscle to ensure it can keep up with future demands. This therefore highlights the importance of recovery, if we don't allow this process to occur we will continue to breakdown and not allow our muscle fibres to rebuild, often resulting in injury. Our bodies will ultimately force rest through injury if we don't rest it ourselves! As much as our bodies need the break so do our minds , we need the break in routine, the structure that pre event training brings , the break from the "pushing through" and the time for our passion and drive to comeback if we somehow lost it towards the end of all the intense training.
The recovery phase is just as important if not more important than the preparation phase especially if we want to tackle more endurance events in the future, let’s respect it like we do the preparation phase. We build up our bodies, they breakdown (muscle fibres etc) in race mode and if we allow them to recover they get to rebuild again...allowing us to get stronger to tackle the next goal we may have set ourselves.
Kerry Hains is a talented Sports Lab Massage Therapist with a strong interest in the sporting population and recovery massage. She brings a wealth of experience to her massage therapy practice.