Inquiries into dieting and food choices aside, one of the top concerns gym members bring to me is in regard to aches and pains. No doubt any hardcore athlete understands that pain and peak performance are a happy couple. But even for the everyday gym-goer and fitness enthusiast, acute pain and muscle soreness are often a problem and should never go unaddressed. In a perfect world, I resolve this by shrinking down my massage therapist Willy Wonka-style and packing her around in my gym bag so that her services are on demand like just about everything else I can think of. Wait—maybe there’s an app for that!?? All kidding aside, in the REAL world I rely on some of my favorite portable devices for pain relief and recovery. Enter my Muuvsport friends: Muscletrac and Stealth Align.
Now I could blast you with all the recent evidence and conflicting ideas regarding the benefits of foam rolling and the importance of myofascial release for relieving pain, increasing blood flow, speeding recovery, and preventing injury, but I will leave that to you and your google search bar. Rather, in answer to your questions about what to do for muscle pain, what I will give you is my honest opinion based on my own experience. You can take it from there.
Let me first make a distinction. Pain and problems resulting from acute injuries should be addressed by specialists. The pain I am referring to is that which results largely from overuse. It can be can be cumulative and localized due to improper and repetitive movement compensations (like an agitated IT band for distance runners), or it can be resulting from something more incidental (like tender muscles following a super destructive leg workout- my personal fav!). In either case, there is tissue trauma. Where there is trauma, there is inflammation. This causes discomfort and affects range of motion and movement patterns, potentially resulting in shortened muscle fibers, and compounding the problem with continued use. What’s important to note is that a localized problem can quickly become more widespread throughout the body due to the compensations it’s making for injured tissue.
And now that I’ve touched on the why, I’ll give you my two cents on how:
1. Massage is a great technique for relieving stiffness and improving circulation because it allows the individual to FULLY relax while those fibers are releasing tension.
2. Stretching should be an important part of any exerciser’s routine because it improves flexibility and elasticity of muscle fibers, which prevents injury over the long-haul. Yoga classes, or prolonged, intentional stretching sessions are a great way to incorporate this technique effectively.
3. Self-Myofascial Release is a fancy way of saying “give yourself a massage”. Reality considered, it’s not possible for me to get massages as frequently as I need (or would like) them. And I will admit to not always having the patience required to practice stretching like I should. So my Muuvsport Muscletrac and Stealth Align are my convenient (but no less effective) go-tos. With a foam roller, you get the benefit of being able to achieve fascial release while relaxing against it (much more like during a massage as opposed to stretching where there is counter-tension). And the Stealth Align is superior because it is contoured to compliment spinal alignment and prevent unnecessary spinal pressure. The Muscletrac is like a contoured rolling pin that I can use on specific areas such as the low back and calves, and super easy to port around in my gym bag.
Bottom line is that I am as serious about the above techniques as I am about a good workout and great food. Muuvsport’s products are one of my highest recommends because they deliver in the areas I often come up short: time and patience! Aches and pains aside, every serious bodybuilder knows that progress and growth happen during recovery. Increasing blood flow by relieving areas of tense and inflamed fascia can, in theory, speed this process. Improving arterial function is nothing but beneficial across the board, and who doesn’t love quicker results!?. While we all care about long-term health and workout results, what matters most is RELIEF NOW. That is what I get with the help of these products, straight up. As for quicker results, I’m currently working on building bigger legs, and incorporating some inter-workout fascia release via the muscletrac as part of my blueprint! So stay tuned…
Visit muuvsport.com to check out these products and more, as well as my own athlete testimonial. And, should you decide to take advantage of what they have to offer, you can receive a discount by using promo code: Darcy at checkout!! ;-)
Stay Fit & Live Well, Friends.
For some quick reference on the above info, see the following: http://blog.nasm.org/training-benefits/foam-rolling-applying-the-technique-of-self-myofascial-release/; http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/2013/10/01/foam-rolling/
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