Recovery 101

How do you counteract the abuse your body endures when training and get back on your favorite playground faster?

Recovery tools...and time...are critical factors.

Whenever you workout longer or harder than usual, prepare yourself for DOMS...delayed onset muscle soreness...about 12 to 48 hours later. Intense exercise causes muscle damage. "Muscle damage must precede size increases. The repair process causes increased muscle size," says William Evans, Ph.D., at Penn State University. After a rough workout, your individual muscle cells are torn and ruptured and the membranes between them are broken down. Molecules escape and end up in your bloodstream. The presence of the enzymes creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase is often used as an index of muscle damage. After training, concentrations of these enzymes can be two to 10 times their normal levels, depending upon the type, duration, and intensity of your workout. Because of this damage, strength and range of motion are negatively impacted and you may have swelling.

What are some solutions?

Nutrition...

Individuals involved in high-intensity, strength-demanding, power-oriented pursuits (velodrome racing or track athletes), probably need more protein than the average...usually about one gram of protein per pound of body of weight.

Massage...

Tests have proven that when athletes follow hard workouts with 30 minutes of massage, their blood creatine kinase levels were lower, neutrophils (white blood cells that help fight inflammation) increased, and the athletes reported lower levels of DOMS, compared to a placebo treatment with "medication." Working with a certified massage therapist is ideal...but self-massage and the use of hand-held massagers are also good.

Call us at 503-774-7450 at any time to speak with our staff massage therapist! And look into getting one of our massagers!