Recovery: Trigger Points

Recovery: Trigger Points 10/23/12

Written by Stacy Ciarleglio, a licensed athletic trainer and ultra runner. 

For some of you, the Hartford Marathon or half marathon might have been your first, for others, maybe it was your 10^th, or maybe you ran a PR. No matter what your running level is, one of the most important things to do after completing an extended period of training is to let your body recover! Allowing for proper recovery will not only help injuries to heal, it will help to prevent new injuries from developing as you continue with your running. If you are planning on running another race this year, proper recovery from your past race can help you to continue to perform at a high level in future events.

One of the most beneficial tools for recovery, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation is the foam roller. The main benefit of rolling on a foam roller is something called myofascial release. “Myo” refers to muscle, and “fascia” refers to the web of collagen that surrounds and connects all of our muscles. 

Repetitive movement, such as running, can cause the muscles and fascia to bind together forming adhesions (trigger points) and inhibiting normal soft tissue function. These trigger points need to be broken down, and the best way to do that is by applying pressure.

Rolling on a foam roller or using Trigger Point Therapy tools such as the TP massage ball, TP quadballer, or TP footballer allows the user to use their own body weight to apply pressure to trigger points. This is a convenient and effective way to lengthen and increase flexibility of the tissue.

Self myofascial release is recommended as part of the regular routine of runners and endurance athletes. Using static stretching to stretch chronically tight muscles does not address the underlying adhesions in the fascia. Adding myofascial release to your stretching program will allow a greater benefit of static stretching, while helping to decrease pain and soreness and increase performance capacity of the muscles.

The first time you ever try myofascial release, you may experience some discomfort. This is normal and the discomfort should subside with regular use of the foam roller and Trigger Point tools.

Come demo our self myofascial release products and see what the “Ultimate 6 for Runners” is in our stretching corner. For more information on these products, check out the Medical section of our website.