Post-Event Recovery Tips

By Michelle Hittner, LMT

Recovery is often the most over-looked aspect of training; however, it is one of the most important. Most often athletes tend to focus on pre-race prep (do I have my water, gels, body glide, race bib etc) and once they reach the finish line you MAYBE do a little stretching before it’s out for breakfast tacos. Recovery starts the minute you slow the pace and hit stop on your Garmin, so the sooner you take action, the faster the healing starts.

Recovery after a competition involves not only the normalization and repair of tissue, but also general relaxation and mental calming. Loosening constricted tissues will restore balance to your muscles and increase blood circulation, which enables proper transport of oxygen and nutrients to tissue cells. Increased lymphatic flow helps to eliminate waste products that cause soreness and inflammation, and will promote faster recovery time by lengthening and stretching the muscles to increase range of motion and flexibility. So basically…the sooner you are on the massage table the better!

Here are few easy tips to help you start your recovery in the event you are not able to get a massage immediately.

1) Cool down: Allow your heart rate to slow down a bit before you hop back in your car. After you cross that finish line start taking deeper breathes to start to help calm the body by taking in more oxygen.

2) Pack a yoga mat: Once you’re done with your race take a few minutes to stretch out your entire body. Your legs are not the only part of your body working. A quick top to bottom stretch routine takes less than 10 minutes and helps to lengthen your muscles. During training season, keep a mat in your gear bin in your car. This will help remind you to stretch before you head home.

3) Nutrition & Re-hydration: Immediate replacement of water, carbohydrates and proteins maximizes the effectiveness of your training and should be done with 30 minutes of completing your race. If you are new to racing there will be some trial and error as there is not a "one size fits all" rule for nutrition recovery. Be patient and if you have questions seek assistance and advice from a professional.

4) Schedule your RECOVERY MASSAGE and talk with your therapist about a maintenance program for your next race. Massage should be looked as a training tool not a luxury. Addressing tiny aches and pains as they occur will nip injuries in the bud before they develop into something that takes you out for the season.

The Why, When, and How of Epsom Salts Baths

So, I commonly see clients after a big race or event or even a training run and they complain of their legs feeling "like lead" or "full and tight". This is usually due to a buildup of metabolic wastes and toxins that your muscles produce that, quite literally gets "stuck" in the tissue. When these wastes accumulate, they cause your legs, arms, glutes to feel heavy, lethargic, and makes doing much in the way of moving very difficult. Also, if you have been lifting and not so commited to stretching after, you may over time get this buildup too.

I catch myself continously asking if they have taken an Epsom Salt bath, and more commonly than not--they have not. Most think that something as simple or silly as a bath cannot be helpful for THEM. Or my other favorite is "I don't like baths". Well, get over yourself. If you want a good way to help yourself in an easy, passive way--try the bath.

Here's all the scientific mumbo-jumbo for what and why it can work for you that I found on the Epsom Salt Council website:


Studies show these benefits from the major components of Epsom Salt may:

Magnesium:
*Ease stress and improves sleep and concentration
*Help muscles and nerves function properly
*Regulate activity of 325+ enzymes
*Help prevent artery hardening and blood clots
*Make insulin more effective
*Reduce inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps
*Improve oxygen use

Sulfates:
*Flush toxins
*Improve absorption of nutrients
*Help form joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins
*Help prevent or ease migraine headaches tell clients to try an Epsom salt bath

I will add that taking an Epsom Salt Bath does cost you some down time in the tub, but you will feel so much better when you go to move around later!

There are a few notes that I would like to add to heighten your enjoyment and knowledge of this awesome event....

*Make sure you HYDRATE--this means water--before, during and after. The metabolic waste and toxins will be pulled out of the tissue, but so will valuable water that you need to replace to get the full effect and benefit.

*Epsom Salts usually come in 3 sizes at any drug, grocery or health store. Small milk carton, large milk carton and 6 pound bag. If you are a fairly active person and don't really like running to the store every time you may need to take a bath, do yourself a favor and buy the 6 pounder. I think the last time I checked it cost about $5.

*Use twice to three times what you think the instructions are telling you. I believe it reads something like "2 cups per gallon of bath water"--how many gallons is YOUR tub? Unless you are bathing in a Pyrex bathtub and know the exact amounts to use, let me help you out. For most tubs and baths so that the water covers up to your waistline--use most if not all of the small milk carton size of salts. This does mean that you use roughly half of the large milk carton size of salts if you bought that one and so on.

*Use water as hot/warm as you can handle and let it cool as you soak. BEFORE GETTING IN THE WATER, pour the salts in and stir/swish/mix the salts around until you don't feel them anymore!! DO NOT SIT ON SALT CRYSTALS, they really wont help you since they haven't dissolved into the water.

*Plan on hanging out in the tub for about 15-20 minutes to really let them soak.

That's pretty much all my wisdom when it comes to this Epsom Salt Bath topic. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will attempt to get you the correct answer!

Written by Kate Ripley LMT, CNMT, NCTM