After Pac Grove, my left adductor/groin muscle really started to act up. That tightened up and swelled against my hamstring, preventing that from moving freely and thus made that start to tighten up, and then both of those pulled upward on my calf making that all nice and tight as well.
For 2 weeks I thought I was dead. I went to both ART and Graston but nothing seemed to calm it down. But then I finally gave it some rest. I stopped all leg training for about 4 days, but the muscles didn’t unflex; they remained very tight and TPMassageRollers and foam rollers both did nothing for them. Graston finally saved the day as rigorous scraping of the muscles caused them finally to stop firing and relax. Kinesio tape was applied to the area and the next morning, I went out for a track workout and amazingly came back with little pain.
That afternoon, I go for more Graston and ART and get re-taped. Then the next day, I go for a 4:55 bike ride and my left adductor/groin muscle doesn’t have even a squeak of protest! The Kinesio tape provided some strange, neuromuscular form of support as well as actually supporting the muscle itself. Somehow, I felt more…secure…because the tape was there against my skin in an area which was giving me problems. Also, I was taped to help the muscle remain extended more, so as to help prevent over-contraction and thus cramping. It seems to have also helped it to stay more relaxed!
I hate to use a crutch like taping, but man, I have two more races before the end of the year and if taping is going to get me there, I’m gonna tape up to the NYC Marathon, and then all the way through Ironman Western Australia.
Just ordered some more tape from Kinesio-Tape.com; can’t run out of this magic stuff!