Massage Therapy & Cycling

I know that most professional cyclists have massages on a regular basis, but I was wondering if this is beneficial for casual cyclists; in particular after a hard weekend?

I recently had a visit with a massage therapist because I have very tight piriformis and glutes (etc) that stretching didn't seem to solve (before you say it, I think my bike fit is now fine).

Anyway, I'm now hurting 2 days after the massage, in places that weren't hurting before. Is this normal? Is it just because it's my first massage? When is it best to get massages in relation to riding days? Is it fine to ride hard now, early in the massage routine?

Thanks.

 

Yeah the first massage can not feel so great afterwards. Another goofy thing that helps is drinking a fair bit of water afterwards, and doing a little bit of really light activity like a casual walk for 20-30 minutes. I have two muscles I’ve torn over the years, and I try to care for them, but the only thing that keeps me mobile, is a trip to a therapist I trust. If they work in pretty deep, you may have some tenderness…

I'd try a few recovery level rides and see how things feel, and kind of work from there.


HR

 

Thanks (for the many replies )

The first visit hurt a lot, but the muscles I had problems with have felt better since. I'm going twice in the next 5 days, each time after a riding day. I went for a recovery-level ride yesterday (then bathed with epsom salts and stretched...nice) and will go a bit longer today, then once on the weekend at least. I just want to be careful, but at the same time I'm sick of being careful and want to ride some hard miles (long charity ride coming up in August).

 

I know how you are feeling, but taking the extra time and effort to make sure your body is "together" is worth it. At a certain point your body will kind of tell you when it's ready.

HR

 

Well I went for another 50km ride yesterday, with some steep hills, and I didn't feel the pain/tightness during the ride at all. I thought it was going to hit a few times, but thankfully didn't.

After a good post-ride stretch, I feel pretty good now. I was a bit stiff in the morning, but better.

Cheers.

 

glad everything is coming around for you - just keep the routine together, even when things are feeling good, and you should stay trouble free


HR

 

I've used massage therapy with cycling for 30 yr now. I think that it is fanrastic.
But you need to find the right person, one that connects with you and thype of work load that you do.

When I raced in Europe it seemed that all of soigneurs ( as they called themselves ) understood cycling and knew the proper techniques.

Over here I have found that the best RMT for me are always former cyclists.


6002

 

I tried to get the CSC guy shown on 'Overcoming', but he was busy.

The RMT I'm going to isn't a cyclist, but when I've thrown out questions which are a bit challenging, she asks questions to her friend who is a professional cyclist, then gets back to me (better than wrong advice).

Let me ask you a question...after a hard ride followed by a massage (same/next day), does the massage hurt? Do you ever get to a point where it doesn't hurt because stretching, bike fit, etc., are so good?

I ask because from the 1st appointment to the 2nd it still hurt the same, it's just that my range of motion (working the piriformis & glutes) was better the 2nd time around. Also, because I've had some really tight muscles, how can you personally track that things are getting better (less pain during massage, range of motion, less tightness in general?).

 

Generally, if you are working hard, you muscles should be fatigued. At this point the massage probably will hurt, because in essence the muscles are damaged from the training. The massage helps with recovery.

Recently my therapist has been doing some conciderable work on my Gluts, and I do feel like I pedal better.

When I had massage on a regular basis, once per week, most of the discomfort subsides. If I have discomfort the next day my experience has told me that the massage was not done properly.

Now that it is summer time, I like to ride to & from the treatment, the little ride home seems to flush the legs. And someone already mentioned drink plenty of water after to help flush the toxins.

 

I've been seeing a massage therapist for ~3 years now. Yes it was challenging at first and now I've come to rely on it (lower back issues).

 

So far I've felt fine the next day, I meant that my massage is same/next day after a ride. After yesterday's massage I did 30 minutes on the rollers and felt pretty good afterwards. Actually 2/3rds of the way into the 'ride' I moved my seat slightly higher (have been thinking it's been too low for a while) as I was starting to feel the glutes/piriformis, and they felt better for the last 10 minutes. I'm going to ride the next few days pretty light and see how the adjustment works. Hopefully this was the cause of my glute/piriformis issues.

 

After about 4 massages (first 2 almost made me cry ) and good stretching, baths, and some anti-inflammatory cream, I finally feel better. I did a long ride yesterday and felt great the rest of the day and in the morning.

I'll continue with the massages once a week or until the coverage runs out!