Have you felt that feeling of fatigue that does not allow you to train regularly? And do you know when it's just muscle overload and reduce injury?
Knowing our body and our recovery times is vital to identify when we could be exposed to an injury, but also a better training plan and the help of a physiotherapist. Always.
We interviewed Gabriela Gutiérrez, a sports physiotherapist and part of Rehab & Science team of professionals, to talk about muscle load in runners and what to do to take care of ourselves to the maximum and perform better.
How can we approach our training plan to avoid or reduce injuries or muscle strain?
In the preparation of an athlete, it is essential to analyze various aspects, not only the sport that he performs as such - in this case, running. It is necessary to analyze everything that comes with being able to practice this sport, such as muscular massages and strength exercise, both as a preventive part so that the muscle can bear the full load that it is going to receive during the stimulus of the race.
And in this, it is necessary to respect the principle of individuality. Here it is a matter of fulfilling a specific schedule, according to the qualities, objectives, and the stage of preparation in which the athlete is.
When should we include strength training, in the preseason or throughout the year?
I would include strength training throughout the year, but at a different intensity. If my career is in September, I would start in January to meet different objectives, and already 16 weeks before the event I would fully enter the force. We must never put it aside because if we stop the strengthening, but do not the running, the body will sooner or later stop responding. After all, it will not have how to face the load that we are putting on it.
Let's talk about muscle load. How can we tell the difference between muscle fatigue and injury?
When we generate the stimulus for a certain time, for example running for two continuous hours, it is normal for the runner to feel muscle pain on the same day or the next day, but it is like being bruised, as when the runner feels a lot of sensitivity when palpating the muscle. That's normal. But if a week later he still has pain, he cannot move as he usually does or he feels joint pain, there I do have to analyze if there is an injury or is it still a muscle load. In this case, the first thing to do is to unload the muscles, to rule out joint pain of muscular origin, because it is possible that when there is a lot of load on the muscle, joint pain is generated. However, if we do the shock and the muscle still hurts, it is necessary to evaluate to see the origin of the pain, which can be structural, mechanical, or nervous.
How often should we receive a discharge massage to anticipate that overload?
Depending on your workload, which is the combination of weight loading and athletic training, I recommend unloading every 22 days. It is not positive to wait any longer because overload is generated. It must be taken into account that weights load and workouts also load, whether they are long or short dips, quality or running technique.
What are the consequences, injuries?
If we leave that overload, in addition to pain, our legs will feel heavy, we will feel slow, we can generate muscle tears, joint pain, and, the most serious, stress fractures. Preventive discharge massage avoids this as long as it is done consistently, every month, or every 22 days. It is not recommended to receive a discharge massage either two days before a mother fund or two days after.
What actions can we take at home to help the muscle while we get to the discharge massage with a professional in physical therapy?
I recommend joint mobility, which is different from stretching, it is moving a joint in all planes. It also helps to use the foam roller, a little, pure sensation, and stretch, but in a fluid way, like yoga. Finally, it is important, to avoid injuries, to take care of and train your running technique. Many times it is downplayed, but it is vital to save energy and avoid injury.
