Massage Techniques I use to Optimize Recovery

A list of techniques I use to help combat muscle soreness, help with regeneration, bulletproofing muscles and the studies to back it up:

Massage is important however what proceeds the massage is vital to the work you do mobilizing your muscles to create lasting results.

Mobilize->Make Permanent(until muscles tighten through use/scar tissue again)

AKA

Massage->PNF(Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) Stretch

First step

Myofascial Release Massage

These two procedures should be done together and can be done anytime during the day, however greater results have been shown that doing them a few hours after exercise is most effective.

Methods:

Massage roller

• 2 minutes/muscle group

• Roll up and down try to find tense areas to focus on, once you have found one, stop on that point and roll on that point with more density

• Try to have your muscles be as relaxed as possible and create a pressure wave

• Study-The study found that the foam rolling group had significantly lower levels of muscle soreness at 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise compared to the control group. The foam rolling group also had significantly higher muscle activation and power output during a vertical jump test at 24 and 48 hours after exercise compared to the control group.

Lacrosse Ball

• Using a trigger point map find an area of pain to concentrate on

• Use these techniques

Contract and Relax

• Improves muscle tension, helps increase ROM, and alleviates shortened muscles by lengthening them.

• Find tight area, contract muscle while on ball for 5 seconds, release and relax for 10. Keep the cycle until pain has subsided, you’ll find that the more cycles you do the deeper the ball will engulf in your muscle signifying the tension release.

• Watch a video here

Smash and Floss

• Apply a “smash” with the ball and roll around every which way, best if done laterally or side to side opposite to the way your striations run. So if you’re looking down at your quad moving the ball left and right.

• This is a form of “ART”- Active Release Treatment

• Watch a video here

• Study-The analysis found that massage therapy, including trigger point massage, was effective in improving muscle soreness, perceived recovery, range of motion, and performance. The effects were found to be greatest when massage therapy was performed immediately after exercise.

Voodoo Floss Band Compression

• This is a fairly new technique but extremely effective.

• A voodoo floss band is a type of elastic band that is wrapped tightly around a muscle group. When the band is wrapped around a muscle group, it compresses the muscle, which can help increase blood flow to the area.
  This increased blood flow can help reduce inflammation and pain in the muscle, and can also help improve flexibility and range of motion. Additionally, the pressure from the band can help break up any scar tissue or adhesions in the muscle, which can also help improve muscle function and reduce pain.
  The band is typically wrapped around the muscle for a short period of time, usually around 2 minutes, before being removed. This short period of compression followed by release is believed to help stimulate the body's natural healing processes, and can also help improve muscle performance and recovery.

• What you’ll want to do is wrap the band away from your heart and have the area of interest in the middle of the band.

• Move around in the greatest amount of range that is possible for 1-2 minutes, do reps of squats, lunges or bicep curls depending on the point of interest and then take the band off.

• After the band is off, do those same exercises for another 1-2 minutes to bring the blood back into the muscle group

• Also, you can put a voodoo band on and simultaneously foam roll, like Kelly Starrett does in this video.

Study-The study found that the muscle flossing group had significantly greater improvements in knee range of motion and jump height immediately after the intervention compared to the control group. The muscle flossing group also had significantly lower levels of perceived muscle soreness 24 hours after the intervention compared to the control group.

Second Step

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation

• Why is PNF important to do in conjunction with myofascial release massage?

• Improves range of motion: PNF stretching is effective in improving range of motion, particularly when combined with myofascial release massage. Myofascial release massage can help to release tight fascia and restore its elasticity, while PNF stretching can help to further improve muscle flexibility.

• Releases tension and pain: Myofascial release massage can help to release tension and pain in the muscles and fascia, which can help to improve overall muscle function. PNF stretching can also help to reduce muscle tension and pain by increasing blood flow and oxygen to the muscles.

• Increases muscle strength: PNF stretching can also help to improve muscle strength, as it involves both contraction and relaxation of the muscles. Myofascial release massage can also help to improve muscle function and strength by releasing adhesions and restrictions in the fascia.

• Enhances recovery: Both PNF stretching and myofascial release massage can help to improve muscle recovery by increasing blood flow and oxygen to the muscles, reducing muscle soreness and fatigue, and improving overall muscle function.

• With massage you’re creating a greater range of motion and when followed by the proper PNF stretch you are telling your body, “this range is okay to now move in, you see even now while i’m in that end-range stretching and contracting(this is a part of PNF we will go over) I am safe and contracting maximally”. Now when sprinting, moving weight in this new range it will not be unfamiliar and should with enough time become accustomed to it.