How to Use Stick Massage for Runners

The Stick is an excellent complement to running and weight lifting because it can help you prevent injuries, speed recovery time, and improve mobility and flexibility. The Stick can be used solo or with help from a partner. For self-massage, it’s best applied to the lower body while you should ask a partner to do the upper body.

The purpose of The Stick is to allow you to do regular self-myofascial release, which means finding and releasing the knots that build up in your muscles due to repetitive physical activities that affect certain areas of the body depending on your chosen activities. Dissipating these knots and adhesions (when layers of muscle tissue stick together and inhibit flexibility/mobility) allows the muscles to be as healthy and balanced as possible, thus keeping those little aches and pains at bay as well keeping them from escalating further into debilitating overuse injuries.

Basic Instructions to use The Stick:

Roll the Stick up and down the full length of any particular muscle. Start with light pressure and gradually increase the pressure to your personal tolerance. Execute 20 full length rolls on each muscle group. When you find any painful areas or knots, you should pause from the full length rolls, and dig in to the target area, using a “kneading” motion with as much pressure as you can tolerate. Hold, dig deep, breathe deep, curse, whatever, just keep the pressure on, though not so much that you give yourself bruises.

Specialized Instructions for Runners:

With running regularly there are very specific muscle groups likely to be affected:

Running: hip flexors, hamstrings, quadriceps, IT band, and calves (and ligaments that connect calves into heels)

Hip Flexors and IT Band

Hip Flexors (TFL): with one leg bent to allow the hip flexor to relax, find notch under the front point of the hip (iliac crest) and position stick in that groove, working down and outward towards upper thigh. The area a couple inches below the hip crest and slightly to the outer side tends to be really be tight and bunched for runners, and you should really focus some time here every day to smooth it out. This will help prevent inhibited range of motion coming from the hips, which affects the alignment for the rest of your lower body putting you at risk for knee/ankle injuries.

IT Band (illiotibial band) – thick ligament that runs from hip flexor muscle and attaches to outside and top of shin bone to provide lateral stabilization for the knee. For some people, this can be a minefield of knots and adhesions. Keep this area clear to avoid the dreaded IT Band Syndrome Injuries. If you experience chronic IT band syndrome, you really should work on addressing your underlying muscle imbalances or movement patterns that are causing it – most likely weak gluts and abductor.

Quads

The quadriceps femoris group that we call quads for short is actually made up of 4 different muscles so when you use the Stick on your quads, make sure you are doing 20 rolls on the top, 20 rolls slightly left of top, and 20 rolls slightly right of top. This one is best done sitting with legs (I prefer the couch) outstretched so this muscle group can be completely relaxed while you roll it.

 

 

 

 

Hamstrings

Like the quads, the hamstrings consist of a group of muscles so when you roll here, be sure to roll 20 times on different angles on the back. Here it is shown from a kneeling position. The other preferred position at my house is the couch position, kicked back with leg in air.

 

 

 

 

Calves

Again, more than one muscle makes up what we call the calves. Change your angle and be sure to roll 20 times on each different angle. Watch out for hot spots down in the middle, such as in pic below, as this is the area where your calves connect into the ligaments that connect into the ankles, heels, and feet. Many disorders linked to running in the feet and ankles can be alleviated or prevented by keeping this area of your calves healthy and free of knots.

Static Stretching After the Stick

After completing the Stick massaging routine is the perfect time to work on your flexibility with some old fashioned static stretching. I say that because when you have knots built up in your muscles, it inhibits your ability to stretch properly so after you have applied some direct pressure into those knots, you may be able to get that healthy muscle tissue to respond a little better and improve your flexibility. The more flexible and supple your muscles, the less likely the injuries. Static stretching is anything of the reach and hold variety, go for 10-15 seconds, relaxing, breathing deeply. Try to select one good stretch for each major muscle group.

Special thanks to my husband for appearing in these pics! On behalf of us both, please consider adding the Wounded Warrior Project to your list of charities you support! This pic below is a link that will take you straight to the official site. They are doing great work to help our nation’s wounded heroes rebuild their lives when they get home and we are proud to support them in many ways. Thank you for your time and continued support. xoxoxo, Lauren and Jess