Enhancing Your Running Through Massage Therapy

Enhancing Your Running Program through Massage Therapy

Did you know that massage therapy could benefit every part of an athlete’s training program from warm up to cool down? When properly administered, massage therapy can improve your overall athletic readiness and treat specific problems that might be holding you back in your training.  Massage has become very popular in recent years among athletes, in particular runners. Running requires sustained, repetitive muscle contraction. The greater the muscle contraction, the more shortening occurs within the muscle tissue and the more force generated. In running, these sustained, repetitive contractions translate into speed, power, and distance. The muscles, fascia (connective tissue surrounding the muscles), tendons, and ligaments all work to absorb a portion of the physical stress from impact involved with running.

Massage therapy can help reduce the pain from recovering injuries or tight areas of muscle and promote the proper healing of scar tissue. The strokes of massage mimic the normal flow of the lymphatic and circulatory system, which drain wastes from the muscle tissues. Massage can help dissolve waste fluids such as lactic acid and lead to a shorter recovery time. Massage is reported to relieve muscle soreness, shorten recovery time, restore range of motion, remove adhesions and even improve performance. Massage also improves flexibility, which reduces the risk of injury and improves running efficiency and performance. Massage reduces cortisol levels, and triggers the release of endorphins and other pain reducing neurochemicals in the body.

Amy Thomas, LMBT,CNMT
912.617.0065

Massage therapy works best as a preventative program. Runners can benefit from deep tissue massage, sports massage and myofascial release techniques.  Unfortunately, most of the effects from massage are relatively short-lived.  Because running is a repetitive action, weekly mileage eventually causes muscles to shorten, fascia to bind, and restrictions to set in again creating the need for another massage. One exception to this rule is the long-term effect massage therapy has on specific injury sites and the reduction of scar tissue formation. Runners can extend the life of their massage with proper hydration, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and stretching, stretching, and more stretching. Massage treatment plans are very individual. Assess your running goals and budget when determining your treatment plan. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you have recurring injuries? Are you pushing your physical limits? Are you tackling a new distance? Are you time goal oriented? Are you competitive? Do you want to qualify for Boston? How much can you afford to spend per week or per month on massage? Then, after assessing your goals, your budget and your available time during the week, plan accordingly. The most important goal is to set a regular schedule for your massage treatments whether it’s once a week or once a month. Overall, you’ll feel better and your running performance will definitely improve!