Muscle pain remedies

November 19, 2006 8:47 PM

How can I soothe muscle pain?

I did a triathlon yesterday, and didn't do the right things post-race. Does anybody have any advice for how to sooth the pain a day after?

posted by jedro to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total)

ICE BATH: A lot of runners suggest a freezing bath. I'm talking cold water + ice cubes. Sit and chill for 10 to 30 minutes.

The shit is cold. Keep the Scotch handy.
posted by four panels at 8:55 PM on November 19, 2006

Massage Therapy from a registered massage therapist who specializes in sports massage. They know exactly what to do.
posted by cardboard at 9:48 PM on November 19, 2006

i thought the ice bath was for the immediate recovery? like, you might see rugby players in an ice bath immediately after the game. I'd want some more opinions or references on the benefits before jumping into a bath tub full of ice cubes.

Maybe get a massage and an epsom salt bath, and maybe try some tiger balm/heat cream or equivalent ointment. ingest some (potassium) salts & calcium, eat lots of protein and maybe a zinc supplement.

I have an amusing anectdote about wearing boxer shorts, applying tiger balm to my thighs, then shrieking and jumping into a cold shower trying to work up a lather and get that accursed ointment off my scrotum, but i'll save that for later.
posted by Tixylix at 9:56 PM on November 19, 2006

I find that heat packs accompanied by Dencorub are always good for muscle pain.
posted by cholly at 10:03 PM on November 19, 2006

Icy Hot - Wikipedia entry. Great stuff
posted by bangitliketmac at 10:29 PM on November 19, 2006

My wife is an ATC and RMT and she recommends ice for the first 24 hours (never more than 20 minutes out of every hour) then heat (hot bath) afterwards. Also apply ice for pain as needed.
posted by Mitheral at 11:16 PM on November 19, 2006

Ice bath is pretty much right after the event, in my experience. Never tried to do it the next day or anything. It wouldn't really do what what it was supposed to do at that point anyway (reduce immediate inflammation associated with punishing endurance sports).
posted by zhivota at 11:16 PM on November 19, 2006

Stretch, slowly and purposefully. Drink enough water to ensure that you're rehydrated. The combination of cold and heat (hot bath! with bubbles!) is very effective. While in the hot bath, work very purposefully on relaxing and letting the tension accumulated in your muscles go.

While it can be hard to even think of doing anything active following a gruelling endurance event, I find that a bit of gentle, low-impact activity--like aqua jogging or swimming--can make a world of difference. Incidentally, aqua jogging is the recovery exercise of choice for the my local professional rugby team. There's nothing quite as amusing as watching a bunch of very big, fit men wearing floatation belts aqua jog alongside (to be stereotypical) the blue-haired granny brigade.
posted by lumiere at 11:27 PM on November 19, 2006

Piling on, but yeah, rules of thumb: ice immediately after any strain, heat later (like the following day(s)).

I get good results with one of those parabolic heaters that look like Death Star weapons aimed at my neck/back/shoulders/whatever hurts. Just bathe in the heat radiation for a couple of hours while reading or working and eventually I'm surprised to notice the pain has melted away.
posted by rokusan at 3:57 AM on November 20, 2006

I completely forgot to stretch after a day-long athletics carnival, and the next day I went for a long 'jog', jogging for a block or two, then stretching lightly for five minutes, then maybe walking a tiny bit, but trying to keep a little warmed up. This lasted about an hour, and I definitely felt better afterwards, although it feels like the last thing you'd want to do.
posted by jacalata at 4:26 AM on November 20, 2006