What shape are your legs?

What shape are your legs?

Knock kneed, bow legged or perfectly aligned, your legs have a lot of work to do each day. They carry your body weight from dawn till dusk THEN you ask a little more from them. Perhaps it’s a little matter of 26 miles plus next month around the streets of Brighton, London or Southampton for example. Now is the time to evaluate the actual condition of your legs. Have you been trying to ignore that grumbling Achilles Tendon that you try to run off & maybe eases a bit after 4 or 5 miles? What about the discomfort that tracks down the outside of your thigh & into your knee? That constant dull lower back ache that you hope will just go away or the hip pain that wakes you at night so that you cannot fully rest and recover after your training.

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away

Sports massage may either solve the problem altogether or at least ease the symptom so that the condition is manageable. Your training schedule may need to be modified over the next few weeks or specific stretches introduced. Leaving it to chance is not a sensible option.

Plan!

During the week before your event & your training will taper; book a pre-event massage if you are injury free. This will assist in optimising your performance by freeing the legs of any lactate build up (they will feel much lighter as soon as you get off the couch). Gently lengthening the legs through massage will assist in realigning muscle fibres, making them more pliable thus minimising the possibility of injury when you run. Tight muscles will restrict joint mobility so your running action could be less fluid as a result. Massage provides both a physical & psychological boost to your careful preparations for the big day. Click here for our Sports Massage page

And when it’s all over

You have a medal hanging around your neck; you may be thinking NEVER AGAIN or alternatively, when can I do this all again!
Hopefully you will have booked into your charities recovery centre & that wonderful post event massage is waiting to speed your recovery. If you are not in such a lucky position, then book in for a specific post-event massage as soon after the run as you can….

Your legs will love you for it!