Recovery Top Tips For Runners

Here at LB Physiotherapy on Chorley New Road, Bolton, we’ve been seeing patients training for the Manchester 10K. It was great to see so many patients running on Sunday. We wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone on completing the run and raising some amazing money for some awesome charities. 

With the Manchester 10k now out of the way your minds might be set on the next challenge, be it another 10k later in the year, training for a half marathon or perhaps even going for a marathon. Whatever it is we wish you all the best!

We hope everyone completed the 10K without any issues, however if you did pick up an injury or are struggling with pain after the run our top tips on recovery will help. 

Before we go into our top tips we need to explain what aches and pains are normal following a 10k run. Running a 10k does have an effect on the legs and can cause muscular discomfort for 48 – 72 hours after the run. This discomfort is completely normal and often presents as a dull ache into the legs, which can increase if you sit down for long periods or going up and down stairs. This aching sensation should only last for 48-72 hours, if it does last longer there may be an underlying injury causing the pain to persist.

So now we know what normal is, we can establish what isn’t normal. A sharp pain anywhere in the legs isn’t normal and may be a sign that you have pulled a muscle during the run. When we pull a muscle we don’t always feel the sharp pain or pull at the time, the symptoms may only rear their ugly heads 24-48 hours later. 

Swelling into the ankle or knee joints along with pain can happen following a run however isn’t normal. The ankle and knee joints can become overloaded through running which can cause irritation leading to pain and swelling in the joint. If you have pain or swelling in your joints after a run this can be a sign of injury or poor running technique and would advise getting checked by a healthcare professional. 

Now we have established normal and a couple of potential issues we can look at some recovery advice. 

If you are suffering with swelling in your joints or a sharp pain in your legs we advise you seek medical advice before trying our recovery tips, as the tips may not be suitable. If you are suffering with achy legs as described above as normal symptoms following a run these tips will help: 

Recovery Tip 1: 

Heat therapy will help to reduce muscular tightness and achy legs following a run. We advise applying heat to your quads, hamstrings and quads for 20 mins three times a day for 3-5 days following your run. You can use a hot water bottle, wheat bag or a bath to get heat into the legs.

Recovery Tip 2: 

Keep mobile and moving! We know those legs are going to ache, but keeping moving is the best way to speed up the recovery process and get rid of those achy legs. If you are straight back in work and work in an office, make sure you take regular breaks to get up and have a walk around. We advise getting up every hour if you are sat at work the week after a run. 

Recovery Tip 3: 

Sports Massages are magic! Yes we know sports massages are often described as painful, but not following a run. We advise having a sports massage 3-5 days following a run to help reduce those achy legs. The massage will be lighter than normal to help reduce the tightness and allow those legs to recover as quick as possible. 

We hope you have found our recovery tips beneficial and hope you completed the Manchester 10K without any issues. If you are one of the ones who unfortunately has picked up an injury check out our social feeds for advise on injuries or give us a call on 01204 800727 and we can chat through any issues you may have.

LB Physiotherapy is located at 13 Chorley New Road, Bolton and was founded by friends, David and Stephen. We are a Greater Manchester physio clinic that specialises in injury prevention for athletes, sports injuries and of course any aches and pains related to running.