Muscle and Fascia Pain: What Older Runners Need To Know

The scientific understanding of fascia is still evolving, and we are discovering that its role is quite complex, but for now, the general understanding is this: 

Fascia is band or sheath of connective tissue that separates and binds together muscles, organs, and other soft structures of the body. Some have described it as a Saran-wrap like layer that holds these soft-tissue elements together.

It’s like a thin skin that holds organs and muscle tissues together, protecting them from internal and external forces. To accomplish this, it must be healthy, receiving proper hydration, nutrients, and stimulation just like any other tissue.

As a practical matter, it’s important to get to know about fascia issues because many of them can be resolved quickly. The problem is fascia issues can masquerade as pulled or strained muscles, and the protocol for recovery is typically rest. Whereas fascia recover is an active process.

The recommended practices for addressing these restrictions in increasing order of aggressiveness are: 

1. Foam rolling
2. Spiky ball rolling
3. Muscle and fascia flossing
4. Graston technique

All these practices should be followed up with static stretching of 3-5 minutes after every run for at least two months. That’s typically what’s necessary to achieve the greatest recovery and gains.

I hope this episode helps you get more joy out or running free of injury. It’s truly one of the great discoveries I made that allowed me to advance my running goals.

If there is anything you would like me to address in future episodes, please go to runninglongevitylab.com and subscribe to our newsletter so we can keep in touch. 

Now, get out there and enjoy your next run! I’ll be running the Mesa Marathon this coming weekend and will share some updates in the next newsletter.