Reduce Sport Pain

Reduce Sport Pain
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With each season comes new sports, which many people plunge headlong into. In the winter, sports such as broomball, cross country skiing, hockey, skating, snowshoeing, snowmobiling. In the summer, water skiing, soccer, football, and the like. Oftentimes with the sudden start there’s a bit of a transition period where the body says, ‘OW! Hey! What the heck are you doing? Muscles are hurting here!”

Alias Alex

You don’t just have to tough it out. There are a number of ways to transition into the new activity, making things easier on yourself and your body. Some tips:

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Break in Slowly. Progress from easy to more advanced so that muscles don’t get strained.

• Cool Down. After your activity, do a 10 to 20 minute walking cool down, which will allow the body to pull lactic acid out of the muscles, using it as fuel. Better than letting the acid stay to cause pain.

• The Epsom Salt Bath. Composed of magnesium and sulfate, these salts offer powerful aid to sore muscles. Not only does an epsom salt bath soothe muscles, given twenty minutes to half an hour the salts are also absorbed into the bloodstream, allowing, among other processes, the magnesium to relax muscle fibres and the sulfate to help clear out muscle cell garbage. Not for those with kidney or heart troubles or those who are taking in a lot of magnesium.

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Arnica Gel. This herbal gel is almost magical in its ability to reduce muscular pain, as well as being excellent for strains, sprains, and bruises. Worldwide, many martial artists use it after heavy workouts and sparring sessions. After trying a number of brands on the market, I found Boiron and Jamieson brands to be high in quality and decently priced. Watch for allergies, don’t apply to broken skin, and don’t use internally.

Note: Jamieson has recently been discontinued. As it’s my fave and the best priced I hope it makes a comeback. So I won’t delist it yet.

• Gentle Stretching. Keeping a sore muscle immobile is not doing it any favours. Get it moving slowly and gently. This helps to increase circulation and decrease muscle shortening, while moving painful lactic acid out. For a great book on the topic check out Bob Anderson’s Stretching.

• Drink Water. Water aids all chemical processes going on in the body. If you’re dehydrated you will hurt more. It’s recommended that most adults drink about 2 litres of water a day. Hard working and playing people should drink more.

• Eat Nutritiously. Without the right building blocks, your muscles can’t properly repair or fuel up.

• Arnica Homeopathic Remedy for Muscles. Homeopathic remedies are all the rage over in Europe and are increasingly popular here. For some people, these subtle medicines can be extremely helpful.

• Liniment-type Products. Applied to the skin these cooling or heating gels, creams, or liniments can be helpful in reducing pain.

• Heat and Ice. Ice is great for reducing inflammation. Heat is good for increasing circulation. For sore muscles experiment with one or the other or both to see what works best for you.

• Ibuprofen. If the above tips don’t kick in well enough to keep you from cringing in pain as you move, Ibuprofen can help reduce pain and inflammation quickly, allowing the others to gain a foothold. As with any over-the-counter remedy, read the contraindications and don’t use if you have worries about taking or have stomach or liver issues.

• Myofascial Trigger Point Release. It’s not recommended as a first-to-do on your muscle-pain-reducing list because your sore muscles may be way too tender to work on, with the knots only just setting up. So give yourself two to three days, to determine, ‘Yep. Got a knot here.’ Then get working on those trigger points with your digits, elbows, a high bounce rubber ball, or a foam roller. With experience, you’ll know when to tackle a knot right off. A great book on the topic is Clair Davies’ The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. See videos below for how to self-release.

• Get Back to Your Activity. The more you do your chosen physical activity, the more accustomed your body will become to it. Ah! And the more physically fit you’ll become.

And if your chosen sports activity also leaves you bruised and contused? I highly recommend A Tooth From the Tiger’s Mouth by Tom Bisio. Here you’ll find excellent ‘powerful healing secrets of great Chinese warriors.’

As a broomball player, I’ve had my fair share of bruises and muscle strains, and so have direct experience with using Tom Bisio’s methods. My fave product to have with me at all tournaments is the San Huang San (Herbal Ice)Poultice because of its unparalleled ability to clear a contusion quickly. After taking a powerful stick blow to her shin pad, a fellow broomball player had an ugly contusion on her shin, sore and swollen black and blue from knee to foot, that hadn’t improved in two weeks. One application of San Huang San (Herbal Ice) Poultice almost completely cleared the contusion in one day. It shocked even me.

It doesn’t matter whether you do your activity for health, fun, competition, venting off steam, or the sheer joy of being alive, don’t let the pain of breaking into things slow you down. Contrary to the traditional saying, Pain is not necessary for Gain.