Training & Nutrition - Teh benefits of massage and uderstonding the knots you get

So I finally got around to getting a massage yesterday (a real one that is) which I've never really done and it showed. The therapist said that I had one of the most tense backs he's ever worked on and my legs had lots of knots (for the session, visualize the chest waxing scene from 40 year old virgin).

Therapist says that he was able to take out "a layer" of knots and I should come back regularly to get the rest out. I feel great today, and as I understand it, these are basically build ups of lactic acid and toxins. so in comes the question, Does this build up affect performance (making the assumption that if you already have lactic acid build up, you'll reach your LT faster)?

Aside from relaxation can one relate massages to improved performance?

I had a professional message (legs only) last Sat between stages 2 and 3 of a 3 day race. My legs felt worse at the start of stage 2 than they did at the start of stage 3 after the massage. There's no question in my mind that it helped my performance and I will get another one if/when I do another multi-day race. While there was no talk of knots, I did hear twice that my "IT" bands were tight. See below;

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/images/itband.2.anat.gif

Mark

I'm no expert on massage, knots, or, for that matter, chest waxing, but you might want to look into getting a foam roller (one of these bad-boys (http://www.bodytrends.com/products/therapy/foamroller.htm), I use a 3' x 6"). It might help for maintenance, once the knots are worked out.

I'm sure it's no replacement for massage by a specialist, but it does a pretty incredible job of self-massage. I use it primarily on my legs. It's the only thing I've found that's made any improvement in my ITB's. After 1.5 months, my leg muscles feel much more supple. It's like re-learning the whole pedaling thing, having some muscles relax through part of the revolution, etc. Considering the time of year, I haven't really tried measuring performance improvements, but I suspect as geneman suggests, there are some real recovery benefits. Mostly, it just feels sooo good to have less tension in my legs all the time. :p

I'm no expert on massage, knots, or, for that matter, chest waxing, but you might want to look into getting a foam roller (one of these bad-boys (http://www.bodytrends.com/products/therapy/foamroller.htm), I use a 3' x 6"). It might help for maintenance, once the knots are worked out.

I'm sure it's no replacement for massage by a specialist, but it does a pretty incredible job of self-massage. I use it primarily on my legs. It's the only thing I've found that's made any improvement in my ITB's. After 1.5 months, my leg muscles feel much more supple. It's like re-learning the whole pedaling thing, having some muscles relax through part of the revolution, etc. Considering the time of year, I haven't really tried measuring performance improvements, but I suspect as geneman suggests, there are some real recovery benefits. Mostly, it just feels sooo good to have less tension in my legs all the time. :p

Interesting - how do you use those for ITB stretching?

I'm curious too, I ave one of those brookstone massagers and it seems to me (in theory at least) that the BM would be better because of the pulsating motion but I've known to be wrong before....

For info on muscles "knots" (which are actually adhesions), and alot of info on self-massage, massage tools, they also have a forum...

www.julstro.com

I've been using it for 2 years, and while it's not as good as getting a massage a couple times a week, it works wonders. (I can't afford a couple of massages a week, anyway...) I have the book "the Pain Free Triathlete", and it's been indispensible.

foam rolls = the bomb. Must-have for any athlete, IMHO.

Interesting - how do you use those for ITB stretching?
As ruger sez, it's not stretching. It's myofascial release. Again, I'm no more than an internet expert... spend an evening searching the web and you'll know what I do. It breaks up adhesions, and causes a relaxation reflex. It's fairly painful for the first week or two. The good thing about it for the ITB is that ITB is difficult to stretch, and is more tendon and ligament than muscle, so it's very slow to respond in any case. However, you'll get noticable results with the roller in weeks.

Here's a write up. I do the first 11 exercises:
http://www.performbetter.com/catalog/assets/Exercisesheets/PDF/FoamRoller.pdf