Preseason Recovery by Jaime Carpenter
Athletic Trainer, Brigham Young University
Regardless of the amount of time you spent preparing for pre-season, it is unlikely you will breeze by without any feeling of fatigue or muscle soreness. Your legs and body will ache and it may be painful to walk up and down stairs, climb into bed or even lower yourself over a toilet seat. After your two-a-days or three-a-days, try a few of these tricks to reduce soreness and help recovery throughout pre-season.
1‰ Stretch and Foam Roll Make sure you include lower body stretching in your warm up and cool down routines and add another stretching session before you go to bed to limit your discomfort.
Stretching should focus on your quads, hip flexors, glutes, prirformis, hamstrings, and calves. Regular stretching will help keep your body loose, balanced and can aid in preventing injury.
Foam rolling can also help with muscle soreness by providing a myofascial release which will allow for the muscles to feel ‘loose’. The foam roller provides many of the same benefits as a sports massage, assisting with blood flow and circulation and can be performed easily in your home or dorm room.
Try these simple exercises. Happy Rolling!
Glut and Hami Rolling [Figure A] Sit with the roller resting near the high hamstring and low gluteus area. Proceed to roll the foam roller from the lower to higher areas of the gluteus and high hamstrings.
Quadricep Rolling [Figure B] Place the roller above the knee caps. Raise your torso off the ground by flexing the spine and supporting yourself with the forearms. Use the shoulders and forearms to move the foam roller from the low to high ends of the thigh.
IT Band Rolling [Figure C] Place the roller below the knee and then sliding into a position where the roller is in an area right below the ‘hip
bone’. Pull the uninvolved knee up and place the foot flat on the ground. Use the uninvolved leg to roll in a top to bottom fashion. The roller should go from the hip-bone region to the lateral aspect of the knee.
[Figure B]
Tip: While foam rolling, pause for a few seconds in the areas that are tighter than others. To purchase a foam roller, contact your local sporting goods store or go on-line at
www.performbetter.com.
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