Ease Muscle Soreness with These 3 Self Care Techniques

Young Man Foam Rolling His IT Band

Pain can have a lot of different causes—connective tissue, nerves, muscles, and more. If your pain or soreness is coming from your muscles (especially after a hard workout), you can alleviate a lot it through proper self care. Self care after the gym consists of myofascial release, active release technique (ART), and stretching.

Your Muscles Are the Culprit

Have you ever noticed a slight twinge in your joints or a catching feeling around them? Or maybe you’ve felt like there is something restricting your full range of movement? A lot of times pain like this is from tight muscles. If unaddressed, it can become a more serious problem with other muscles, tendons, and ligaments. You may experience strains, tears, detachments, and even skeletal fusion.

Listen to Your Body, It Speaks to You

When you feel any kind of pain, twinge, catch, ache, or uncomfortable feeling—even if it’s faint—your body is trying to tell you something. Don't ignore it. I know, it’s easier to shake it out or (when it goes away after a second) shrug it off as if it’s not a problem. Well, eventually it may happen again, and it might turn into a constant pain that seems to never go away. It might interfere with the way you move. That’s no way to live!

Spiky Self Massage Ball for Myofasical Release

What to Do about It? Self Care

  1. Perform myofascial release by using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, TheraGun, etc. There are many good devices out there, so pick whatever you are most comfortable with. Here are a few of my favorites. Locate tight areas and put pressure on them. If you’re foam rolling and find an area that’s very sore you’ve probably found a knot that needs some extra TLC. Hold the foam roller (or whatever device your using) over the knot until the pain eases. Then continue rolling.

  2. You can take this a step further and use active release technique (ART). This is where you put pressure on a muscle and slowly move it at the same time. While putting pressure on the area, think of the movement that would lengthen/stretch the muscle. For example, for the IT band (the band that stretches down the side of your thigh), you would bend your knee while laying on your side with the foam roller under your leg. Do this motion slowly, allowing the muscle to respond. This may feel intense, so breathe and take your time. Once you’ve lengthened the muscle, shorten it again. Repeat this 5 to 10 times until the muscle releases (you will know because the intensity will lessen). The intensity is most likely due to an adhesion, where the fascia becomes tight and restricts blood flow. ART will help get blood back into this area and ultimately bring relief.

  3. Follow ART with some static stretching of the same muscle. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute as needed. Then go about your normal activity. Revisit your fitness self care as needed, and make sure to strengthen any muscles that are giving you trouble.

Young Woman Stretching Piriformis in a Yoga Pose

Post-workout self care is an important part of any fitness regimen. This is especially true when your joints are “talking to you,” when you sleep wrong, have a flare up of a previous injury, or just feel extra tight. Everyone needs to take care of their muscles.

After following these steps, you should immediately feel better. You’ll also see long-term improvements in your performance and wellness over time. To learn more, set up a complimentary consult with me.