Sports massage after muscle pull?

Sports massage after muscle pull?

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gareth h

Original Poster:

3,762 posts

237 months

Thursday 7th November
quotequote all
Advice from the knowledgable please, I managed to pull my calf last night, I’ve been doing the usual RICE procedure, but it was mentioned that massage might speed up recovery, is this likely to improve things? And if so how long after the injury should it be used?
Thanks

bangerhoarder

563 posts

75 months

Thursday 7th November
quotequote all
Typically, 48 hours of rest for initial trauma. Physio typically won’t touch it for a couple of weeks - you need to let initial trauma begin to heal. There may be a bleed or similar injury which can’t be improved with magic hands.

A physio will usually assess then give you rehab to do. Massage won’t improve the damage if it’s a ligament/tendon. If it’s just the muscle itself, they can work to ensure that it’s healing properly over time, doing deep tissue massage to encourage strong muscle fibre regrowth/healing, but it’s not something that can be massaged away.

Edited by bangerhoarder on Thursday 7th November 17:25

Latifisnc

873 posts

99 months

Thursday 7th November
quotequote all
unless a serious muscle tear, rice is not the way forward (the guy that came up with it has been arguing against it for over a decade). The mor eup to date principle is peace and love: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Peace_and_Love_Princi...

Massage will help with repair due to increased blood and lymph flow and reduced build up of scar tissue and adhesions, as mentioned above though - it isn't a miracle cure. Give it 5-7 days for some fibre repair before seeing someone. In the meantime roll a soft ball under your foot (tennis ball is ok, but softer is better - I use golf flight balls for clients). Up to about 20 mins - this helps reduce tension through the fascial line (has been shown to help right up to lower back).

Edited by Latifisnc on Thursday 7th November 20:12

gareth h

Original Poster:

3,762 posts

237 months

Thursday 7th November
quotequote all
Latifisnc said:
unless a serious muscle tear, rice is not the way forward (the guy that came up with it has been arguing against it for over a decade). The mor eup to date principle is peace and love: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Peace_and_Love_Princi...

Massage will help with repair due to increased blood and lymph flow and reduced build up of scar tissue and adhesions, as mentioned above though - it isn't a miracle cure. Give it 5-7 days for some fibre repair before seeing someone. In the meantime roll a soft ball under your foot (tennis ball is ok, but softer is better - I use golf flight balls for clients). Up to about 20 mins - this helps reduce tension through the fascial line (has been shown to help right up to lower back).

Edited by Latifisnc on Thursday 7th November 20:12
Thanks, I’ll try that