Why do runners feel ‘tight’?
‘‘The last time I raced a 10km I was tight for about 2 weeks!’’
‘‘ My hamstrings were not happy. They felt achy and solid and I felt like I needed to stretch them every day.’’
We hear all of the time that our runners feel tight after runs, and feel the need to constantly stretch their muscles. Although they feel a little better afterwards, their muscles feel tight again the next morning and it seems like Groundhog Day. This tightness can be extremely common when someone has started running after a long time off, or when their mileage starts to build.
In the short term, stretching may seem like a good idea. However, this is just temporary relief, and will have limited benefit to their running performance. Nobody has ever achieved a running PB becaus ethey stretched every day. Especially due to the biomechanics and ranges of motion used while running, being able to go into a full pigeon stretch, or have your hands flat on the floor during a hamstring stretch has no transferable benefit.
The tightness in muscles of runners is usually down to fatigue. This can be due to mileage that is too high for your current ability, not enough recovery, poor muscle strength and capacity, or a combination of these factors. By all means, stretch if it helps symptoms but the effects might be quite short-term.
A better solution is first to focus on recovery. Cut back the mileage and intensity, allow time to rest and make quality sleep a priority. A week or two can make a huge difference. Here are 4 solutions to help runners who feel tight:
Use a recovery week with lower running intensity and mileage.
Test leg strength in your ‘tight’/fatigued state, and retest after a recovery week.
Spend time in the gym to address strength imbalances and deficits.
Have a graded return to goal weekly mileage and intensity over a period of 2-6 weeks.
If you have any questions on whether physio is the best option for you, or you have any questions about MVMNT in general, feel free to contact via email.
- Jay Towolawi, Specialist Sports Physiotherapist and MVMNT Founder.