Running recovery: tips for avoiding injury

The survey, commissioned by Blackmores, also revealed that a third of Australians only focus on rest and recovery after exercise if they feel sore, and one in 10 never do it.

Andrew Hoare, a sports physiotherapist and director of PhysioTrain is not surprised by the findings.

“With limited time available, recovery is often the easiest component to leave out of your fitness routine, as the benefits of a good recovery are not always felt right away,” he says, adding “the health benefits of exercise come about through consistency, and getting a good recovery is the best way to ensure you can keep training while reducing your risk of pain and injury.”

Runner and fitness coach, Danielle Bazergy says she takes a broad approach to recovery.

“My running volume fluctuates a lot and depends on a few factors, like how much other training I’ve done and how my body is feeling in relation to my menstrual cycle.

“Some weeks I’ll go for two to three runs and will get in a couple of strength sessions, while there are some weeks that I don’t even run, and my recovery activity takes these changes into account.”

Bazergy says her recovery sessions are a mix of mobility and foam roller exercises, daily meditation and ocean swimming and a sauna once a week. She also takes a magnesium supplement and ensures she gets adequate sleep – “at least seven hours every night.”

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Hoare says runners should pay more attention to recovery when the activity they’ve done is new or their body is not used to it, such as your first interval session. If you’ve increased the distance, speed or intensity of your run, or you’re returning to activity after a break, you should also prioritise recovery.

Hoare adds that recovery is very individual. “A type of recovery that works well for one runner, may not have the same effect for someone else. It’s a good idea to experiment with different recovery tactics to see which ones work best for you to include in your training routine.”

While there are several expensive recovery therapies available such as Cryotherapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Hoare recommends trying some of the following simple and affordable forms of recovery to help encourage improved wellness and performance.

Sleep: Your body does a lot of great work while you sleep, and you should get as much of it as you can. Sleep replenishes, repairs and regenerates tissue damaged from the day’s workout, and builds muscle and bone so that you can be ready for the next training session.

Hydration: Water plays a significant role in the recovery process – from helping digest vital nutrients, flushing out toxins and regulating body temperature, to repairing muscles damaged during exercise.

Active recovery: When training hard, your body burns fuel and produces waste products such as lactic acid. Low intensity exercise or active recovery such as walking or a gentle bike ride helps to remove these products, minimising the damage that they can cause in the muscles.

Compression shorts or tights: These garments have been shown to help improve recovery and reduce muscle fatigue and have the benefit of being easy to apply.

Ice baths or cold-water immersion: Ice baths can reduce pain and may help reduce inflammation in the muscles, which can be present after hard training. This is particularly valuable if your sport involves not just running to exhaustion, but also soft tissue trauma from collisions such as in AFL football.

Sports massage: Research has found that massage is one of the most effective methods for reducing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness and perceived fatigue.

Foam rolling: If you can’t get a massage, foam rolling is a great option for relieving tightness and tension in your leg muscles.

Stretching: The benefits of stretching vary depending on the intensity and type of exercise. Many athletes swear by it, but there is not a lot of research to back it up. However, most runners would benefit from a few gentle stretches such as a hip-flexor, hamstring and calf stretch before hitting the shower after a run.