There are 3 essential relaxation tools for running without injury. Which one is your favorite?

Stretching is a very important part of running. Many runners are often dismissive of stretching, thinking that as long as they finish running, the task is completed, and they don't do stretching at all or just do it hastily. You must know that if you do not stretch for a long time, the muscle elasticity will decrease and become stiff, which will make running prone to injury and slow recovery from fatigue.

Why stretch after a run?

There are two main purposes, one is to restore the muscles to their original length. When running, the muscles are constantly contracting and stretching. After exercise, the muscles will shorten and become stiff due to fatigue. At this time, stretching can restore the muscle fibers to their original length and relax the muscles.

The second purpose is to improve muscle elasticity and stretchability. When stretching, the elasticity and extensibility of the muscles can be improved by lengthening the muscles. When exercising, it can be shortened to the shortest and stretched to the longest, improving the exercise efficiency of the muscles.

However, stretching alone cannot completely relax our muscles.

Because after exercise, in addition to the shortening of muscle fibers, its order will also be disrupted, just like the messy hair when you just got up in the morning. , you must use a comb to comb.

In addition, there are fascia inside and outside the muscles. People who cook frequently should know that there will be a white film on the meat, which is fascia. Fascia not only wraps muscles, it also separates muscles so that they work independently without affecting each other.

But after a long period of exercise, the fascia will become tense, which will restrict the contraction and extension of the muscles, reducing the economy of exercise. In addition, the fascia will also become entangled with the muscle fibers, and "trigger points" will appear, that is, knotted. At this time, if you press it with your hands, you will find it particularly painful.

And these situations cannot be solved by stretching alone. At this time, some external equipment is needed to assist.

Generally speaking, we will choose these 3 artifacts to relax muscles, fascia ball, foam roller and fascia gun.

Fascia balls, also called massage balls, are small balls for muscle massage, some with contacts and some without contacts. It can effectively relax fascia, relieve muscle tension, reduce body tension, and improve body balance.

Fascia balls generally rely on their own body weight to apply pressure, and press wherever they feel sour. When using the fascia ball, roll and knead the tense muscles for about 30-40 seconds, and roll for 3-4 sets. When rolling, if you roll to the trigger point, everyone who has rolled should know the sour feeling. But after massaging with the fascia ball, the body is really comfortable.

However, the small size of the fascia ball is not particularly useful for some large muscle groups. However, massage on some small muscle groups or certain points does work well. Especially people with plantar fasciitis often use their feet to step on the fascia ball, and the recovery effect is considerable.

I believe that many runners have a foam roller at home. This is definitely an artifact for relaxing muscles, and it is of high quality and low price.

Every time after running and stretching, I will use the foam roller to roll again, it is really comfortable! Every time after rolling, the soreness on the muscles basically disappeared.

The foam shaft is a way for runners to apply pressure through their own body weight, which can accelerate local blood return, eliminate the discharge of metabolites, and achieve a relaxing effect.

When using a foam roller, there are two ways to use it.

The first is to put the muscle to be relaxed on the foam roller, and then roll it. When rolling to the painful point, stay for about 30 seconds, wait until the pain has subsided, and then move to other painful places. The position can be rolled for about 5 minutes, which can relax the muscles very well.

The second is to roll on the foam roller with its own weight, and roll the muscle parts you want to relax about 20-30 times, which can effectively loosen the fascia.

There is another kind of foam roller, which is a rolling foam roller that can clamp the calf. Its operation is much simpler and more convenient than the ordinary foam roller. Clamp it, and then roll it up and down to achieve the effect of relaxing muscles.

After my normal run, I especially like to use this foam roller to relax, the effect is very good, and it is easy to operate.

However, the foam roller has two disadvantages. One is that it cannot effectively relax some small places, such as the soles of the feet. In addition, the use of foam rollers requires a venue, and generally can only be done at home.

Using the foam roller and the fascia ball together can relax the muscles of the body in all directions.

Fascia guns have only become popular in recent years, especially in gyms, where people can be seen everywhere using fascia guns to relax themselves. In the NBA, once a player takes a break, he will immediately pick up the fascia gun to relax himself.

So what is the principle of fascia gun to relax muscles?

The fascia gun reaches the deep layer of the muscle through high-frequency and deep vibration, and the impact loosens the adhesion between the muscle and the fascia, thereby achieving the effect of relaxing and massaging the muscles, relieving soreness, and promoting blood circulation.

In addition to exercise, the fascia gun can also come in handy for back pain, shoulder and neck pain caused by long-term sitting. It can be said to be a sharp weapon for working and running to relax muscles.

Generally speaking, the fascia gun will be equipped with several different massage heads for different muscle groups. For example, the spherical head is more suitable for large muscle groups, while the bullet head is more suitable for relaxing the soles of the feet and palms. It can be said that the muscles of the whole body can be relaxed with a fascia gun, and the operation is simple.

Although the relaxation effect of the fascia gun is very good and the operation is convenient, but compared with the fascia ball and foam roller, the price will be much higher.

These three muscle relaxation artifacts have their own advantages and disadvantages, but they are undoubtedly the best auxiliary equipment for relaxing muscles. Which one do you usually choose when relaxing your muscles?