The running benefits of remedial massage

Remedial massage and running
The most important outcome of remedial massage treatment is that it reduces pain and enables a return to a normal range of movement and function. Remedial massage essentially involves locating and removing blockages thus creating the conditions for the body’s return to optimal health.

As I work with a patient, I learn by touch where the problem areas lie. Initially this is guided by the location of pain, although this can be misleading because the pain may be felt in a related place, not the area of injury itself. It can take a bit of detective work to find out which parts of the runner's body need attention.

Some running injuries are caused by overuse (running uses the same muscles over and over again). Sometimes your body is telling you that you are running too far or too fast. I have recently had a number of people with injuries caused by running on hard ground.

Basically, remedial massage is a treatment for sprains, strains, backache and painful joints - both long-term as well as recent injuries. It uses a number of different strokes on the body, done mostly with the hands and affecting the deep tissues.

Remedial massage can help the runner by...

• flushing the fluid through the tissues
• pressing the muscles to release tension
• pressing areas of hardened tissue to break them up
• stretching tissue to restore normal range of movement
• tapping muscles to increase the blood supply and tone the muscles.

The movements are quite specific depending on the area being worked on and the effect required.

How does remedial massage work on the runner's body?
What's most important function is the removal of damaged cells, clearing the way for fresh blood to bring oxygen and nutrients to rebuild the tissue. The body responds to touch, enabling muscles to relax in a way that cannot happen in isolation.

Some of the techniques that I use are designed to cause relaxation of permanently contracted muscle tissue. It can be used in conjunction with other treatments, orthodox or alternative. It works well with physiotherapy.

What is a remedial massage treatment session like?
A treatment session lasts for about 45 minutes. It includes collecting information about the runner's problem and the pattern of running exercise, observation of the function of the body, some massage to warm the body, an examination of the runner's problem area and treatment by further massage and movement of joints.

Massage takes place lying on a massage couch. I use oil to prevent friction damage to the skin from the massage movements.

Although much of the massage is enjoyable, some of it is painful, for example working to remove scar tissue - what we were taught in training to describe as therapeutic pain and people often say ‘I can feel it is doing me good’.

Also I explore creating a healthy environment to exercise and run in, discussing increasing range of movement with stretches for example, as a way of ensuring that during exercise the body is not forced causing future damage.

Why do runners need remedial massage?
The runner’s body would benefit from regular massage. This is because strenuous exercise damages muscles and massage would ensure that the soft tissues return to normal and are capable of maximum use again.

Remedial massage treats minor injuries by preventing the build-up of damaged tissue, which could lead to long-term problems. It works for persistent and repeat injuries caused by failure to clear-up the debris from a previous injury, obstructing the flow in the area and causing lack of stretch in local muscle.

An experienced competitive cyclist tells me that remedial massage is the only effective way to remove scar tissue from previous injury.

At the site of a running injury it is common to notice swelling, especially immediately after impact. As the swelling subsides, we think that all is returning to normal. However, if some time has passed and any joint has been immobile, the chances are that some fluid remains and thickens at the site, eventually becoming almost solid.

This causes problems with the use of the area, noticed as limitation of movement, stiffness and most importantly, pain. With the use of remedial massage, this can be prevented, but what is less widely known is that it is possible to remove such obstructions long after the running injury has healed - sometimes many years. This can be done very successfully with often a complete reduction of pain and frequently the individual runner can return to full movement with the removal of stiffness and sensitivity to cold/change in temperature and weather.

The benefits of remedial massage are realised by many of the sports professionals - cycling teams, running squads, even Formula One teams include a masseuse in their entourage.

Self pre-exercise massage (immediately before an event or training session) stimulates blood flow through muscles to warm and ready them for running exercise, thus preventing many strains. It also makes stretching a lot more effective. Post-running exercise massage serves to flush the lactic acid from the muscles and helps to relax and rejuvenate them much faster.

It is important when stretching to be able to bend more than you will need with normal movement, that way when you go out of your usual range for some reason you have the capacity to cope with the greater demand without damage. You will not be stretched beyond your limit.

Remedial massage running injury case study:
Robert, who came to me with a repeat heel injury that he had suffered two years ago, was able to run again without pain after three weeks. He was pleased with this result because it had taken three months to return to running the first time and the injury had never fully recovered.

“It was always susceptible to flaring up again and that’s exactly what happened when I came to see you”, he said. “It felt the same but you diagnosed it differently, that it wasn’t the achilles because it only hurt at certain points. When I had it treated previously, they flexed my ankle in much the same way as you did, but when it was in different positions they were surprised there was no pain.”