Marathoners: Will a deep tissue massage prior to the race help or hurt your...

[Melanie M]

...performance? My husband is a very fast competitive marathoner. His birthday is coming up on the 25th, and I'm thinking of taking him to a B&B with a spa and get him a deep tissue massage. The problem is, he has a marathon on the 29th that he's been preparing for all season. Will the massage cause him a problem? Going for the massage after the race isn't really an option because the spa is not in our area.

 

[snvffy]

No, don't do it. Regardless of the shape he's in and/or the qualifications and skills of the massage therapist, the possibility of a bruise or other occurrence is too great. You don't want to take the heat or feel the guilt for that.

It is very thoughtful of you to think of that, though.

Good Luck

 

[alizemuffin]

It depends on the qualifications of the massage therapist. They need to be trained in how to affect the muscles positively. You wouldn't want to loosen tight muscles that are tight to improve his running time, even if that "feels" good. It can be extremely beneficial if the therapist is trained in sports massage. I think that your husband would appreciate the massage much more after the marathon. Again, the therapist should be trained in how to assist in healing the affected muscles from that sport. If in doubt, he should skip the pre marathon massage. Perhaps a simple relaxing massage instead of deep tissue. That should not effect his muscles as much as the deep tissue.