Comments on: Finding The Knots http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots A Spotlight on Healthy Living Fri, 18 May 2012 10:23:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Tracey http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-4149 Tracey Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:09:36 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-4149 I know what you mean by "good pain". I had a deep tissue done on my legs 2 days ago. The only way I can describe the pain is the worst pain in my life. But now my legs feel a lot better, still have a few bruises, but they feel more relaxed and not as tight. During the massage, I lost count how many times I said "I hate you" for talking me into this. I work at a Golds Gym and we have an inhouse Massage Therapist. He kept saying it will hurt like hell now but in a day or two your legs will feel alot better. My leg calve had been giving me problems running and was extremely tight all the time. One way to help with the next day pain is to make sure you drink plenty of water afterwards and the following day. I was told to drink a gallon before going to bed. I think that is a little much for someone my size (5'1, 109lbs.), but I did have 2 liters plus a bottle of Gatorade. My legs were sore the following morning but I was able to walk and as the day went on the pain went away and I was able to walk and move a lot better. I know what you mean by “good pain”. I had a deep tissue done on my legs 2 days ago. The only way I can describe the pain is the worst pain in my life. But now my legs feel a lot better, still have a few bruises, but they feel more relaxed and not as tight.

During the massage, I lost count how many times I said “I hate you” for talking me into this. I work at a Golds Gym and we have an inhouse Massage Therapist. He kept saying it will hurt like hell now but in a day or two your legs will feel alot better. My leg calve had been giving me problems running and was extremely tight all the time.

One way to help with the next day pain is to make sure you drink plenty of water afterwards and the following day. I was told to drink a gallon before going to bed. I think that is a little much for someone my size (5’1, 109lbs.), but I did have 2 liters plus a bottle of Gatorade. My legs were sore the following morning but I was able to walk and as the day went on the pain went away and I was able to walk and move a lot better.

]]> By: Kelly http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-2204 Kelly Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:27:37 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-2204 Hello, So sorry to hear of your experince. I have had to deep muscle mass., but nothing like what you are saying. Now my first one i was sick for two days( said it was all the toxins in the muscle),Second,no problem going for another. I think i would find a diferent place to go next.and ask them to do a medium mass. I was told by my therapist your fist time isn't suppose to be as deep as the next. Good luck,I do know the knots can be painful. Hello,
So sorry to hear of your experince. I have had to deep muscle mass., but nothing like what you are saying. Now my first one i was sick for two days( said it was all the toxins in the muscle),Second,no problem going for another. I think i would find a diferent place to go next.and ask them to do a medium mass.
I was told by my therapist your fist time isn’t suppose to be as deep as the next.
Good luck,I do know the knots can be painful.

]]> By: Finding Flexibility: Flexing and Relaxing the Muscles | Health and Running http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-968 Finding Flexibility: Flexing and Relaxing the Muscles | Health and Running Mon, 04 May 2009 13:06:40 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-968 [...] Sitting with my pregnant friend who is also an apprentice in the TAP pilates instructor program I started to pepper her with pilates questions while stretching. I’ve always struggled with the single leg stretch because I can’t seem to straighten my legs the whole way which frustrates me and also means I’m not benefiting from the exercise as much. As I lay on the ground she stood above me holding one leg up straight and pushed it toward my head. It was the straightest my leg had ever been and I instantly felt the stretch run through my hamstrings. She then asked me to relax my quad muscles. After several tries at what I thought was relaxing, my quads were still fully flexed. I couldn’t relax! [...] [...] Sitting with my pregnant friend who is also an apprentice in the TAP pilates instructor program I started to pepper her with pilates questions while stretching. I’ve always struggled with the single leg stretch because I can’t seem to straighten my legs the whole way which frustrates me and also means I’m not benefiting from the exercise as much. As I lay on the ground she stood above me holding one leg up straight and pushed it toward my head. It was the straightest my leg had ever been and I instantly felt the stretch run through my hamstrings. She then asked me to relax my quad muscles. After several tries at what I thought was relaxing, my quads were still fully flexed. I couldn’t relax! [...]

]]> By: Natalie http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-217 Natalie Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:15:01 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-217 Jon, Thank you for the comment, great information! The massage therapist that I worked with did talk to me about the importance of identifying the cause of the pain and addressing that first with massage, rolling, etc as supplements to deal with the pain. I am pretty sure overuse caused a good bit of my problem but I also blame some cambered streets that I ran on frequently. I had pretty new shoes and checked their soles so I feel like I can rule that out. I've had trainers recommend seeing a chiro or other doctor to determine if maybe one leg is longer than the other which could also contribute to pain. I just did a 10K with no pain at all and credit all the various treatments, stretches, etc I tried. I plan to start slow getting back into running & will be writing about that journey. Would love to connect with you on more topics and look forward to getting in touch. Thanks again for the feedback! Jon, Thank you for the comment, great information! The massage therapist that I worked with did talk to me about the importance of identifying the cause of the pain and addressing that first with massage, rolling, etc as supplements to deal with the pain. I am pretty sure overuse caused a good bit of my problem but I also blame some cambered streets that I ran on frequently. I had pretty new shoes and checked their soles so I feel like I can rule that out. I’ve had trainers recommend seeing a chiro or other doctor to determine if maybe one leg is longer than the other which could also contribute to pain. I just did a 10K with no pain at all and credit all the various treatments, stretches, etc I tried. I plan to start slow getting back into running & will be writing about that journey. Would love to connect with you on more topics and look forward to getting in touch. Thanks again for the feedback!

]]> By: Jon Aronstein http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-214 Jon Aronstein Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:02:38 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-214 Hi- Kellly that is a good book that you recommended, I have spoken with Craig before and i am a practitioner of similar work (the work of Thomas Hanna, PhD, on which Craig bases a lot of his stuff- Clinical Somatic Education). His work, like mine, aims to change the "software", that is the neuro-muscular programming that holds muscles tight and organizes movement patterns. The problem with some massage, rolling, and stretching is that they all treat the "hardware" (the muscles themselves) without getting at the underlying "software" problems that caused the hardware problems. We say that it is like banging on the keys of the keyboard when the software of the computer crashes--not going to help. Some stretching, massage, rolling, etc can be beneficial, but does not take the place of making the deeper changes to neuro-muscular control. In fact, the kind of deep-tissue work Natalie mentioned, as well as some rolling, stretching, etc, can actually cause greater muscle tension. Every PT, Dr. Chiropractor, etc know about the underlying mechanisms that cause this, yet they often advocate techniques that do it anyway. I do work professionally with Athletes and others to make lasting changes and to improve their warm-ups and their ability to remain injury free, efficient, and finely-tuned. I will post a link to the article I am just finishing about this.... Natalie, thanks for the site here, I will keep checking it. I am a tennis player myself, and also trying to learn more about some of the specifics of the way runners train. We should talk about that "Bring on the pain" statement :-) There are better ways and the pain just may be leading to longer term problems. Feel free to drop me an email. Jon Hi- Kellly that is a good book that you recommended, I have spoken with Craig before and i am a practitioner of similar work (the work of Thomas Hanna, PhD, on which Craig bases a lot of his stuff- Clinical Somatic Education).
His work, like mine, aims to change the “software”, that is the neuro-muscular programming that holds muscles tight and organizes movement patterns. The problem with some massage, rolling, and stretching is that they all treat the “hardware” (the muscles themselves) without getting at the underlying “software” problems that caused the hardware problems. We say that it is like banging on the keys of the keyboard when the software of the computer crashes–not going to help. Some stretching, massage, rolling, etc can be beneficial, but does not take the place of making the deeper changes to neuro-muscular control. In fact, the kind of deep-tissue work Natalie mentioned, as well as some rolling, stretching, etc, can actually cause greater muscle tension. Every PT, Dr. Chiropractor, etc know about the underlying mechanisms that cause this, yet they often advocate techniques that do it anyway. I do work professionally with Athletes and others to make lasting changes and to improve their warm-ups and their ability to remain injury free, efficient, and finely-tuned. I will post a link to the article I am just finishing about this….
Natalie, thanks for the site here, I will keep checking it. I am a tennis player myself, and also trying to learn more about some of the specifics of the way runners train. We should talk about that “Bring on the pain” statement :-) There are better ways and the pain just may be leading to longer term problems. Feel free to drop me an email.
Jon

]]> By: Christine http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-95 Christine Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:13:01 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-95 Ouch. I highly recommend the book " The Whartons' Stretch Book". It is a comprehensive book that teaches you prescriptive stretches by sport, focusing on the method of stretching one isolated muscle at a time. good luck with your Mother Knot, Christine Ouch. I highly recommend the book ” The Whartons’ Stretch Book”. It is a comprehensive book that teaches you prescriptive stretches by sport, focusing on the method of stretching one isolated muscle at a time.
good luck with your Mother Knot,
Christine

]]> By: Natalie http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-94 Natalie Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:04:31 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-94 Kelly, Thanks for the link; I'll definitely check it out. Despite the pain of the massage I actually think it was still worth doing and I'll probably do it again. I don't know how else to effectively get those knots out and I know that to run pain-free that will have to happen. Foam rolling (now that I know where to roll!) continues to be painful but I can feel the knots be worked. All in due time and if it lets me get more long runs in sooner rather than later, bring on the pain! Good luck with your shoulder massage! I wonder--do you sometimes scrunch your shoulders up when you run? I used to do this and had tight shoulders until I learned to relax on runs and loosen my shoulders, keep my neck straight, and focus on something about 100 yards in front of me. Happy running! Kelly, Thanks for the link; I’ll definitely check it out. Despite the pain of the massage I actually think it was still worth doing and I’ll probably do it again. I don’t know how else to effectively get those knots out and I know that to run pain-free that will have to happen. Foam rolling (now that I know where to roll!) continues to be painful but I can feel the knots be worked. All in due time and if it lets me get more long runs in sooner rather than later, bring on the pain! Good luck with your shoulder massage! I wonder–do you sometimes scrunch your shoulders up when you run? I used to do this and had tight shoulders until I learned to relax on runs and loosen my shoulders, keep my neck straight, and focus on something about 100 yards in front of me. Happy running!

]]> By: Kelly http://healthandrunning.com/running/muscle-knots/comment-page-1#comment-93 Kelly Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:05:03 +0000 http://healthandrunning.com/?p=294#comment-93 Aww! Thanks for sharing this. I have been wanting to get a deep tissue massage for a long while now - I have super tight shoulder muscles (it has started affecting my long runs). I figured it would exactly be a nice experience but now I know! You might be interested in this book called Muscular Retraining (his website: http://www.craigwilliamson.net/). Its helped me, but its a work in progress as I have had the tightness over ten years. Hope it gets easier soon Kelly Aww! Thanks for sharing this. I have been wanting to get a deep tissue massage for a long while now – I have super tight shoulder muscles (it has started affecting my long runs). I figured it would exactly be a nice experience but now I know!

You might be interested in this book called Muscular Retraining (his website: http://www.craigwilliamson.net/). Its helped me, but its a work in progress as I have had the tightness over ten years.

Hope it gets easier soon

Kelly

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