JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Each week leading up to the Gate River Run on March 20, H2 Health will provide tips for runners. This is the third of nine segments.
It’s been a long and physically taxing run. Quads and hamstring muscles are burning. Maybe plantar fasciitis is flaring up.
Two of the top treatments for issues like that are Astym and cupping, both noninvasive methods to help in the recovery process.
John Kovacs of H2 Health said those two methods can be ideal for runners and walkers during the lead up and even after events such as the Gate River Run.
Astym treatment is done on the surface of the skin and helps damaged soft tissue heal. It can also help in breaking up scar tissue.
Week 1: Pay attention to those hamstrings
Week 2: It sounds simple, but make sure your gear is the right fit
“[Astym allows] our clinician to get to an underlying problem so some diagnosis like, for the runner or the walker, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinits, it has great outcomes,” Kovacs said. “It’s fantastic for big muscle groups. But It allows us to, again, to work through that muscle in a handful of strokes.”
The visibility of cupping came to the forefront during the 2016 Rio Olympics when swimmers like Michael Phelps competed and had large, circular patches of discolored skin around their shoulders. The process helps stimulate oxygen and bloodflow back to the areas that are treated.
“One of the main physiological affects, it helps to lift the skin and by lifting that skin we can help promote oxygen and bloodflow back to that area,” Kovacs said. “Astym and cupping are both fantastic modalities to come in, help us clean up that system, get your body functioning and that movement back to where it should be so you can recover faster, stronger and better.”