If you’re a runner, you know how a long run can take a toll on your body. For those who are training for a half- or full marathon, you understand that the steps can be grueling. Your body fatigues, your legs start to feel like lead and you’re more prone to injury. Massage therapy can be helpful to prevent injuries and even more important to help you recover from one.
How Massage Improves Performance
With a lot of running, your muscles can become tight and shortened, increasing your risk for injury. Massage elongates the muscles and allows them to relax and stretch. This relieves the tightness in muscles and improves blood circulation. You’ll notice better range of motion as you run and as you handle the rest of your daily routine.
Massaging tissues and muscles helps break down the metabolic waste that leads to soreness. You’ll notice that your legs and other muscles are less sore after a run, which means you can run longer and more often – an essential component if you’re training for a race.
Therapeutic massage is a combination of techniques aimed at providing specific results. A professional therapist will know what kind of strokes and how much pressure to use to achieve your goals. It’s not the kind where you sit back and relax, but it’s more aimed at providing health benefits to your muscles.
For massage therapy to work best, you must make it part of your regular training routine. It will help you keep going and recover from a hard workout while reducing the risk of injury. After the race is finished, you can schedule a more relaxing Swedish massage as your reward for all the effort you put into training.