Our favorite ways to relieve sore muscles and help prevent injury
Recovery is so critical to avoiding injury and getting stronger as a runner, during a training block, but especially after a marathon. Within our running group, our goal is always to ‘recover as hard as we train!’
There are so many methods of recovery that we use, depending on the needs of the week, ranging from simple at-home stretching, to more involved methods like massage or dry needling.
We recently polled some of you via our Broadcast channel and Foam Rolling, Stretching and Massage were your favorite recovery methods. We've included those and some more to our list below.
Sleep
Zhenya: Sleep is my number one recovery method. As I am about to tackle my 5th and last marathon for the year, CIM, I am doing anything and everything I can to get my 8+ hours of sleep a night. I look back on spring training and my training last year and remember the anxiety and the sleepless nights, and this fall it is just so different. I had a conversation with a friend right before the Boston Marathon, telling her how poorly I've been sleeping and melatonin was just not working. She recommended taking magnesium glycinate before sleep and it has helped me so much!
Janet: I really wish I was a better sleeper, but I am a naturally nocturnal person and I cannot remember the last time I had an uninterrupted night of 8 hours of sleep, even though I know it is so important. I do use sleep aids, usually in the form of magnesium, melatonin gummies and ashwaganda gummies. If I am traveling for a marathon and there is a time zone adjustment, I will definitely take all three on my first night in the new time zone to ensure I get a good night's sleep.
Yoga and Stretching
Zhenya: After I come back from a run, I immediately take a 10-20 minute yoga class to stretch out my muscles. Yoga is both a great way to recover post-run and a gentle form of cross training. There are a lot of "stretchy" types of yoga classes available on Peloton and other platforms that you can incorporate into your routine. My favorite classes at this moment are the ones targeting hamstrings and lower body. I also like Yin Yoga for a deeper stretch that goes past my muscles and into connective tissue.
Janet: Immediately after I finish running, I go through a series of static stretches - hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, glutes, calves - and try to hold each for at least 30 seconds. I try to do this before I even go back inside, partly because I want to do it while my muscles are still warm, but mostly because I know that the moment I get home, all I would want to do is shower and eat! After long runs, if I am being really diligent, I might even take a Peloton Post-run Stretch class.
Assisted Stretching (StretchLab)
Janet: I have a tendency to get injured, especially on my left side. My IT band has been an issue lately, and last year, I rehabbed it for 6 weeks between the Berlin and NYC marathons. My physical therapist said it was because I had a “weak posterior chain” (muscles along the back lower half of the body like glutes, hamstrings, calves) which I found surprising because I always assumed I had strong legs from years of dance classes. Since then, I have tried to be more proactive in my recovery methods. And I spend 10 minutes before every run activating those glute muscles!
After running the F3 Half Marathon last winter with super tight hip flexors that never seemed to warm up (running in a snowstorm might have also had something to do with it!), I finally tried StretchLab. StretchLab is an assisted stretching studio where trained ‘flexologists’ help us get into deeper stretches than we would otherwise achieve on our own. They use the PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) method, where we contract certain muscles and hold the contraction for a few moments before they help us deepen into the stretch. It is a very precise and rigorous method of stretching - the body is positioned in various ways to get at specific muscles. For me, we target muscles impacting the IT band, hip flexors, and piriformis. I became a regular after I was able to run without pain for the first time in months. I try go every 2-3 weeks or so (especially during marathon training) to help stay limber and (hopefully) stave off potential injuries.
Massage
Janet: I love massages - and use running lots of miles as an excuse to get them! I started getting clinical massages with Aligned Modern Health - as part of my IT band rehab program. Aligned Modern Health focused on pressure point massages - applying intense pressure to troublesome areas like my outer knee and making adjustments based on whether the pain radiated out or stayed local. After rehab, I moved on to a more relaxing form of massage at NOW Massage. NOW offers a type of massage called The Stretch, that combines deep tissue massage with stretching to stimulate lymphatic and circulatory systems, improve range of motion, and reduce recovery time. This is my monthly treat - I love the rustic, candlelit rooms with the sound of ocean waves playing in the background that makes me feel like I am in Tulum. I usually schedule these for the day or two after a long run.
Foam Rolling
Janet: I think I foam roll because every runner foam rolls. When I am diligent about doing it after running, I find that my legs are less sore at night and I am able to sleep better. I mostly foam roll my legs to release tightness in hamstrings, calves and quads. I can actually feel the knots in my quads sometimes as I am rolling over them and that helpts alert me to areas that I need to work on stretching. I have not been able to master foam rolling my glutes or hips without falling off the roller! I also use a smaller rolling stick called Tiger Tail which is smaller and more compact and great to travel with.
Zhenya: Foam rolling isn't my go to recovery, but I will take Peloton foam roll classes every once in a while. I think I will make it my New Year's resolution to become more consistent with foam rolling.
Percussion Therapy (Massage Guns)
Zhenya: Hypervolt was my very first recovery tool that I tried basically as soon as I started running. When I started training in January of 2020 my IT band immediately made itself known. My work gym is very well equipped with recovery tools, and one of my coworkers recommended I use the Hypervolt post workout and run. I fell in love with the massage gun and got one for myself shortly after the pandemic started.
Sadly, it is also one of the tools I overlook the most. I have been making it a priority to use it regularly especially this time of year when I am running multiple marathons. A massage gun is also a great warm up tool! I hope you incorporate it into your routine!
Janet: I love my Theragun because I am lazy and it allows me to passively massage my muscles while sitting on the couch and watching Netflix. When I first got it as a gift from my husband a few years ago (I think he was just tired of me asking him to massage my calves all the time!), I thought I didn't need it, but I use it almost daily. Theragun comes with a variety of detachable massagers from round to pointy, which can be interchanged depending on how targeted (or painful) you want the massage to be. I use the Theragun along my IT band, on glutes, and on the knots in my calves (which occasionally makes me want to cry because it ‘hurts so good’.)
Dry Needling
Zhenya: I first tried dry needling in 2022 when I got injured training for the Boston Marathon. I was suffering from muscle overuse, and sought out one of the local PTs to help me out. He was very skilled at dry needling, unfortunately very expensive and didn’t take my insurance. Thanks to him though, I was able to get back to running and finished the 2022 Boston Marathon.
I started regular dry needling with a different PT in May of 2022. Luckily, I have an onsite PT at my office with a nominal co-pay. I knew I had to take advantage of it. I’ve been using dry needling as a regular recovery tool ever since.
This past summer my PT was able to add an eStim device to dry needling, and that has been a game changer for my recovery! The dry needles are inserted into a muscle group (you can target various muscle groups.) Once inserted, the needle triggers the muscle to twitch and release, breaking the neurological pathway with the brain. This helps with pain perception and our brain's response to the pain. The eStim device connected to the needles stimulates the muscles to contract involuntarily. Not going to lie, the first time I tried it, it felt like an alien had taken over my body because of the involuntary contractions! But afterwards, the pain was gone and I soon found these muscle contractions to be relaxing as the tension was released. After each session, I felt sore and tired, as though I had worked out.
Red Light Therapy
Zhenya: I got a Mito Red light panel earlier this year, and I personally love it. Not going to lie, I was intimidated by it at first. Luckily, the instructions were super easy to follow and figure out. The panel itself is easy to operate, move around or angle as needed. The kit also came with 2 sets of protective glasses to ensure eye health and safety.
With the Mito Red Light, I prefer to target areas that are bugging me, like glutes, hamstrings, hips. I do that by pointing the panel at those areas vs targeting the whole body. I usually set it for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes up to 3 times a week to promote recovery. Red light is also known to be very beneficial in skincare, so it is a win - win in my book!
For a full list of items mentioned in this post, check out our shoppable list here.
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