Injuries after a sports massage

2 watchers

Spen71 Feb 2016 7:23am, 25 Feb 2016 106 posts	0 Spen71 With less than a month to go to my first ultra of the year i thought I would have a sports massage as I had been doing a lot of miles. Bad mistake! Immediately after the massage my calves where really sore. Had a short run and knew that I had a calf strain and a quad strain. Got some treatment and took a week off. Last night I had a three mile test jog for the calf and quad. They were fine BUT now the posterior tibulaus tendon is sore and the Achilles on the other foot. What the hell has happened here? The massage has changed the way the feet move? Any tips for getting rid of the niggles !
Hanneke Feb 2016 8:29am, 25 Feb 2016 68,754 posts	0 Hanneke Did you go and run immediately after the massage? Bad idea! The masseur should have told you that! Sounds like you were really tight. It is always best to follow up with some gentle stretching and a days rest... Let the muscles recover/adjust.
Hanneke Feb 2016 8:30am, 25 Feb 2016 68,755 posts	0 Hanneke And how long before your massage did you run? Deep massage too quickly after a run isn't good either...
Spen71 Feb 2016 10:31am, 25 Feb 2016 107 posts	0 Spen71 I ran the next day. This is nine days ago and tendons in the ankle are inflamed
Velociraptor Feb 2016 10:45am, 25 Feb 2016 33,501 posts	0 Velociraptor Were your legs OK before you had the massage? ("Sports massage" is not a no-risk intervention.)
MH Feb 2016 11:24am, 25 Feb 2016 362 posts	0 MH Agree with Hanneke's & Vrap's questions. did you have any underlying niggles before? how hard/long had you run before and after the massage? The therapist should do all that evaluation beforehand and do some degree of assessment. Deep tissue work can cause more muscle trauma and it's a myth that is 'has' to hurt to do any good. Working too deep with the wrong technique will cause the muscles you are working to contract and it's counterproductive. Unfortunately there are a lot of 'sports massage' people who are happy to be pretty brutal and it's tending to give all the modalities of soft tissue therapy a bit of a bad name What was the treatment you had in between? Of course, it could also be that these are all unrelated.
Spen71 Feb 2016 1:21pm, 25 Feb 2016 108 posts	0 Spen71 I had no treatment for months. Had gone 6 months with no Injuries. I had the massage on the Tuesday, Felt a bit sore after and had a slow run on the Wednesday for 7 miles. I knew something was not right with the calf and quad so went to see an old timer physio or did some ultra sound on the muscles and they healed really quick. During the day yesterday I felt the tendons get sore and even worse after my run last night
Flatlander Feb 2016 2:29pm, 25 Feb 2016 367 posts	0 Flatlander This is very timely for me, because I'm having my first ever sports massage tomorrow. Now I know what to and what not to do, and what questions to ask.
Hanneke Feb 2016 11:50am, 26 Feb 2016 68,756 posts	0 Hanneke Yes, make sure you go into a sports massage recovered from your last run OR tell your masseur you want a recovery aiding massage. Also, don't run for one or two days after, until the body has recovered from the massage. A good sports masseur should never go too hard! If it hurts, the body is telling you damage is being done. I use a massage therapist. She will go hard if needed, but never so hard it actually hurts. If things are really tight, you will need a more gradual approach over multiple sessions. I have a maintenance session monthly and have had for the last 10 years, since I started running. Ad in extra sessions when needed, to fit in with training and racing. Make sure you find a properly qualified practitioner, as some can be too gung ho and do damage...
Flatlander Feb 2016 1:48pm, 27 Feb 2016 371 posts	0 Flatlander Thanks Hann, that was very helpful, although I'd already had my massage by the time I read it. I've blogged about my experience http://www.fetcheveryone.com/blog-view.php?id=37839&m=0&y=0#blog348855 to help anyone else thinking about a massage, don't know if it's any use to you Spen71?