With the City to Surf done and dusted here are some tips to optimise your recovery! With more than 80,000 people completing the City to Surf yesterday we thought it would be a good idea to provide you with some tips on how to optimise your recovery, as many of you might be suffering from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) or just general Exercise Induced Muscle Damage (EIMD) after yesterdays 14km run.
- First off massage is a must post run, a 2012 study by Crane et al found that “when administered to skeletal muscle that has been acutely damaged through exercise, massage therapy appears to be clinically beneficial by reducing inflammation and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis.” This basically means that massage will help decrease pain, and even promote energy regeneration in those sore muscles.
- Cramping and spasm of muscles a few days after a run are fairly common symptoms and in combination with stretching, supplementation of magnesium has also been shown to help reduce cramp/spasm frequency and intensity.
- A 2011 study by Hausswirth et al looked at the effects of different treatment modalities following EIMD in runners, they found that cryotherapy (icing and cold baths) in the 48 hours following damaging running exercise to help accelerate muscle recovery.
- Compression garments have also been shown to help with muscle recovery with a 2013 systematic review by Hill et al showing the use of compression garments was effective in improving measures of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), muscular strength, muscular power and creatine kinase (CK).
These are a few things that you could consider if you are feeling a bit sore after the City to Surf yesterday or just after a run in the future, if you have any further questions or niggling pain/injuries don’t hesitate to contact us at Synergy Healthcare on 02 9522 2125 to see how we can help optimise your recovery!