Sports massage

Yesterday I went for a sports massage. I'd asked my triathlete colleague at work about ways to reduce muscle pain a while ago and other than self massage and rest, he suggested a sports massage to relieve the lactic acid build up.

A couple of weeks ago I was passing a centre that offers therapies and classes on a variety of things and noticed they offered sports massage. I walked in to enquire and they said they would pass my details onto one of their therapists and they would be in touch shortly. Later that day a woman called Nicola phoned me to ask me more about what I was after and to explain more about it. As I'd just had five days off the bike I decided to arrange it for a couple of weeks time as I knew my muscles would be well and truly knackered by then. As you know, for the last two weeks I've been cycling the full commute to work and in that time I've cycled 220 miles - a big step up for me.

So, Saturday morning came and I arrived at her house for my sports massage. Once inside, Nicola asked me to fill in a brief health questionnaire and asked me a few specific questions about what areas needed particular attention (no smutty comments guys!). She showed me to the room with the massage table and told me to get changed into a pair of shorts. I did so and called her in. I felt a little self-conscious lying there face down almost naked on her table but soon realised it was no different than going to a swimming pool.

She started massaging my calfs and instantly was very firm with the pressure to the point I was in agony. She did explain beforehand that it might hurt and to let her know throughout if the pain was too much. She moved to my hamstrings, concentrating on one side which I mentioned was much tighter than the other. She then moved on to my back, neck and shoulders. She was very firm on the back, but nice and gentle on the neck. She then got me to turn around onto my back. Starting with my shins and moving up to my thighs. She then finished with a stretch of both my calfs and hamstrings.

At the end of the massage I felt knackered and relaxed. I could have just fallen asleep. The only negative was my calfs were quite tender. She explained that was quite normal. She then explained that I should avoid exercise for the rest of the day and drink plenty of water. I paid the £40 fee for the hours massage and drove home.

Well, how do I feel now? Fine. My calfs are back to normal and I feel good. I went for a ride just before writing this and my legs feel fresh. I would recommend it at this stage to anyone, not just cyclists and those that do sports. It's not cheap but I felt it was worth it. I will definitely go back but how often will depend on how I feel.

4 comments:

  1. I'll leave the obvious comments to the usual suspects Toby! Glad it helped though, I knew it would as the pro players at my club all use this as a means of speeding recovery. That or ice baths, I know which one I'd go for...

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  2. I've fancied one of these for a long time - must get round to it!

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  3. I see you are doing loads of riding but what about your diet? Can you enlighten us all as to what you have done differently?

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  4. Diet wise it's been citing out obvious rubbish like cakes, crisps, chocolate etc and eating smaller portions. I'm still eating the same meals at dinner time. I also eat breakfast every day, something I never did before. For lunch I have pasta, rice, or cous cous.

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