Things you should do?
- Warm up – a Norwegian study in 2012 found a 20 minute warm up was more effective than a cool down for reducing delayed onset muscle soreness.
- Ice baths – the research is still not out as every few months, an article claims they are effective, followed by one claiming they don’t work. Whatever they make you feel better. Either that or a dip in the ocean.
- Anti-oxidants – hmmm, this is one better suited to a sports dietitian. I’ll leave this one alone.
- Compression – there is endurance to suggest compression does reduce next day soreness and speed up style recovery. My tip – get those compression garments on as soon as you can finish exercise and keep them on for 1-2 hours.
- Massage – placebo? There is endurance to suggest massage reduces inflammatory markers in the muscle. The mechanism unknown, but there certainly is a place for massage as a training aid.
- Dry needling – it works to release trigger points and relax muscle. A spasm muscle is reputed to have reduced blood flow which results in less oxygen and nutrients. Needling post exercising may assist recovery.
- Is there a miracle cure for recovery? No, but one thing is for sure, just keep moving!
Check out my YouTube Video on foam rolling below:
