Before I started running I didn’t really know about Sport massages –> to me, the only Massage you could get were the ones at the spa. The kind where the room smelt of lavender, was candle lit and you left the session feeling incredibly relaxed and refreshed.
Around a year ago I was diagnosed with a curvature of the spine –> at the same time, I was getting a really bad pain in my glutes and upper thighs. After doing lots of research, I decided to go and have a sports massage.
I found a local one and booked an early appointment –> I had no expectations, I just figured it would be similar to the ones I had had before.
When I arrived, I was made to do lots of different stretches and together we identified where my pain was coming from and then where it originated from. Next I was lying down on the bench and instead of feeling incredibly relaxed, I was in a world of pain. I wasn’t expecting it to hurt but boy did it kill –> there were moments where I honestly wanted to walk out of the room or punch someone. Either would have done.
After it was done, I sat down and was made to drink a glass of water –> the massage breaks down toxins in your body and therefore you need to make sure you drink lots and lots of water to flush your body out. You also feel a little strange afterwards and sitting down helped –> it was as if someone had just woken me up from a deep sleep, I felt incredibly drowsy!
Although the experience was incredibly painful, my legs felt so much better –> it made such a difference that I ended up going back once a month. There were times where I didn’t need much and therefore I just had a half hour session –> sometimes I felt incredibly stiff and therefore I had a whole hour. Either way, I always left the session feeling bruised and battered but a lot better than before!
I had my last session a couple of days ago –> after being in pain for 2 weeks it helped massively. It broke down the tension and meant my thighs were no longer so tight. Before my massage, my IT band was pulling my hip down which made it extremely uncomfortable and painful to run –> that pain was so much better after the massage!
They are quite expensive –> where I am, it’s around £40 a hour. However, it is most definitely money well spent and something I would highly recommend to any runner, regardless of whether you have an injury or not. From my experience, I would say to have one once a month and one after a race –> for me, it massively helped my recovery and my DOMS weren’t as bad.
Has anyone else had a sports massage before?
How often do you have yours?
L x
