I had a sports massage and found it a little painful is this normal?
Sports massages are not the ‘cucumbers over your eyes whilst relaxing music plays’ style of massage, nice as they are. Sports massages can in fact be slightly painful as they are designed to directly stretch and reduce tension in the muscles used for running. This shouldn’t put you off, as the mild discomfort felt is well worth it in the long run. As well as helping to prevent and treat injuries, sports massages can decrease recovery time, boost your running performance, and reduce the amount of pain felt while you’re running.
Do your research on good massage therapists in your area. A good therapist is worth their weight in gold. If you are a regular runner then I would recommend seeing them on a regular basis, not just when you feel a niggle. Prevention is far better than cure.
Phil is a highly respected fitness and biomechanics coach specialising in injury prevention and nutrition. Phil also ...