Become a Better Runner With These Recovery Tools

Medically reviewed by: Dr. Ronald Mochizuki, MD

Wind rushing through your hair, calves burning, city streets and wooded trails racing past… running makes for one enticing fitness cocktail. It also invites us to push our limits, both physical and mental. 

But like any peak physical experience, running takes a toll on our bodies. Don’t let its allure trick you into skipping recovery—and that means more than just rest. Recovery encompasses an intentional approach to healing, one that prepares your body to meet the next trail or track with renewed gusto.

When crafting your bounce-back routine, incorporate a few powerful runners’ recovery tools to keep your legs limber and primed for the next challenge.

Why Recovery is Vital for Runners

Exercises come in two main varieties: low- and high-impact. 

High-impact movements include:

• Running
• Jumping
• Calisthenics

These require your feet and body to lose and regain contact with the ground. Over time, this steady impact takes a toll on muscles and tendons.

Low-impact activities, on the other hand, keep your body safe from these mini-collisions. Low-impact exercises include standbys like:

• Swimming
• Yoga
• Pilates

While high-impact moves can enhance bone density and furnish excellent cardio, they carry a much higher risk of injury.

Since running falls under the “high-impact” category, it comes fraught with injury risk and can be a tough habit to maintain without proper recovery. Allowing your muscles and tendons time to bounce back can also boost your performance in the long run.

The Role of Recovery Tools in Optimizing Recovery

Since prehistoric times, humans have possessed an affinity for tools—and if running recovery is any indication, we haven’t changed. 

Tackling soreness with targeted methods often yields better results than mere rest or low-impact activity. That’s because recovery tools come engineered with a few critical goals in mind:

• Increase blood flow to the affected area
• Relax tense muscles
• Alleviate soreness

While gentle activity can accomplish these aims to some extent, you’ll always achieve superior results with tools designed specifically to soothe high-impact damage. Properly healed muscles tend to deliver better results down the road, leading to elevated athletic performance.

Top Recovery Tools for Runners

So, you’re ready to take control of your recovery. Excellent. Let’s discuss the best running recovery tools and how to leverage them to improve your health and athleticism.

Foam Rollers

Chances are, you’ve seen these stocked at sporting goods stores, in the corner of your local gym, or among a pile of thrift shop goodies. Foam rollers are foam cylinders that athletes use to:

• Boost flexibility
• Reduce stiffness
• Break up knotted muscle

To reap these benefits, you’ll place the roller beneath the target muscle groups, lean into it with your body weight, and then “roll” back and forth along the affected area. Keep in mind, this can cause some discomfort, especially if you’re new to rolling. As you mash muscles, the pressure will draw blood to the area and smooth out kinked-up tissue.

Pressure delivers further benefits when combined with vibration. The Power Plate vibrating foam roller embraces this power and incorporates three levels of healing oscillation, rendering its pressure more effective. With waveforms specially designed to soothe tight muscles, the Power Plate Roller is a go-to for pre-run warmups and post-session cooldowns.

Massage Guns

Also known as “percussive therapy,” massage guns stimulate weary muscles with steady jolts of pressure. These pulses:

• Raise metabolic activity in the muscles
• Elevate blood temperature
• Increase blood flow

Since they enable precision targeting, massage guns come in especially handy when focusing on a specific, troublesome muscle group. Options like the Power Plate Pulse handheld massage gun—with its six unique head attachments (for distinct muscle clusters)—provide powerful relief and make phenomenal travel partners for athletes on the go.

Compression Gear

It’s common to spot joggers sporting extra sleeves that cover their calves, or clingy shorts that don’t swish as they move. These accoutrements are called “compression gear” and runners wear them to improve blood flow.

Turns out, compressing blood vessels boosts their blood-pumping powers, which in turn enhances circulation. Studies have also found that compression gear diminishes muscle fatigue and improves overall performance.

By keeping blood flow high and guarding against fatigue, compression gear protects tissue during exertion, rendering recovery a smoother process.

Stretching and Mobility Tools

To reap the rewards of active recovery, you need to challenge your body, but in a less demanding way than via full-blown workouts. Light exertion helps muscles regain function without burning further resources.

Stretching and yoga both fit the bill perfectly. To get the most out of these recovery techniques, try employing resistance bands (elastic strips with handles on either end) or yoga mats (especially useful for back and hip mobility).

Ice and Heat Therapy Tools

After your muscles take a beating on the trail, your body sends a stream of white blood cells to repair the countless tiny muscle fiber tears. And the fluids that carry these restorative cells can build up in the affected area and produce inflammation.

To dampen these side effects, many runners turn to contrast therapy, or alternating between applying cold and heat. Since heat causes material to expand and cold invites contraction, alternating between them produces a pumping motion in your blood vessels that can ward off inflammation., 

If contrast therapy sounds appealing, pick up some ice packs and a heating pad. Apply the heat for 5-10 minutes, followed by 1-2 minutes of ice. Switch between them a few times. Tip: finishing with ice helps keep vessels narrow, which discourages further swelling.

How Whole Body Vibration and Power Plate Enhance Runner Recovery

Most runners' recovery tools attack stiffness and fatigue from the outside. But what if you could launch soothing waves deep inside your muscles, ensuring that every fiber receives relief?

That’s precisely the benefit whole body vibration (WBV) brings to the table. Using precision-engineered devices—like a vibration plate—you can now accelerate your recovery by coating weary muscles with 50 vibrations per second of powerful oscillation. These stimulating waves help:

• Activate muscle fibers
• Boost circulation
• Rejuvenate sore muscles

Simply resting sore calves on the Power Plate post-run can help prevent knots from forming and invite restorative nutrients to flow. Whole body vibration also provides:

• Low-impact recovery for all fitness levels – Since your body passively absorbs the Power Plate’s healing vibrations, WBV delivers the ultimate low-impact recovery method. Suitable for pro athletes and beginners alike.
  
• Quick and convenient recovery – Busy schedules don’t permit much time for recovery. Fortunately, the Power Plate’s compact size and low-stress application allow for maximum recovery benefits anytime, anywhere.

Recovery methods run the gamut, and each offers unique benefits. Mix and match and find what puts a spring in your step. For all-around convenience and targeted relief, however, whole body vibration leads the pack.

Building an Effective Recovery Routine

The benefits of exercise tend to compound over time. A steady, optimized routine will usually deliver better results than a piecemeal assortment of activities. 

The same goes for recovery methods. Your body loves rhythm, so give it what it wants and establish a standard bounce-back protocol. 

Daily Recovery Practices

If you’re just beginning your running habit, you have a golden opportunity to dial in your recovery practice. As you push yourself, experiment with the different recovery tools we’ve covered. Try contrast therapy and note its impact on inflammation. Work through a resistance band routine on your rest day and track your performance on the following day’s run.

If you count yourself a veteran runner, you likely already have some form of recovery practice. But if the results leave you wanting, shake things up. Add some fresh tools to the equation. Experiment with timing. Restructure your rest day schedule.

The bottom line: runners of all stripes can benefit from immediate post-exertion recovery. Plan to follow up every session with some form of recovery; don’t immediately put your muscles into cold storage.

Post-Run Recovery Essentials

For initial post-run rehab, a few time-tested essentials will serve you well. Once you’ve caught your breath, plan to:

• Add nutrients – Replenish your energy stores by taking in some carbs and protein (within 30 minutes of completing your run). Top options include yogurt and granola, protein shakes, or eggs and toast.
• Rehydrate – Running obviously depletes your H20 levels. The American Council on Exercise advises imbibing 7-10 ounces of fluid for every 20 minutes of exercise. Add electrolyte solutions for extra oomph.

As you feed and water yourself, add some soothing Power Plate vibrations to head off inflammation and help nutrients flow to battered muscle fibers.

Listen to Your Body

With its endorphin rushes and brain-brightening powers, running can be highly addictive. Obviously, getting hooked on healthy activities makes for a high-quality life. But running can still lead to a physical breakdown if not held in check.

To sustain a long-term running practice, it’s essential to listen to your body. This means taking note of persistent pain, soreness, fatigue, or other alarm bells your body uses to warn of impending injury. 

Don’t hesitate to alter your routine if red flags pop up. Better to spend a few days in recuperation mode than face the prospect of several months off your feet.

Equip Yourself with the Best Recovery Tools

For many, running transcends mere exercise. It becomes a way of life—an exhilarating and healthy one at that. To sustainably live the runner’s life, intentional recuperation must take as much priority as hitting the pavement. And that begins with quality recovery tools. 

At Power Plate, we understand the joy of pushing your limits. To serve that joy, we’ve tapped our engineering team’s brain power to craft an array of boundary-breaking recovery tools, led by the rejuvenating waves of our top-of-the-line vibration plates. 

Fight inflammation, boost circulation, and accelerate recovery by activating every muscle fiber. Explore our collection today to shake up your routine.

Sources: 

Mana Medical Associates. High-Impact and Low-Impact Exercise. https://mana.md/high-impact-and-low-impact-exercise/ 

Runner’s World. How to use a foam roller, plus 5 exercises to help tired muscles recover. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/injury/g28517456/foam-roller-exercises/ 

Runner’s World. How to use a massage gun–an expert guide. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/injury/a46053734/do-massage-guns-work/ 

Science Direct. Effects of compression garments on surface EMG and physiological responses during and after distance running. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254617300017 

Runner’s World. How to tame chronic inflammation. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/mental-health/a775314/how-to-tame-chronic-inflammation/ 

Penn  State Engineering. Thermal Expansion and Contraction. https://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/courses/ce584/concrete/library/cracking/thermalexpansioncontraction/thermalexpcontr.htm 

HCA Houston Healthcare. When to use heat or ice for an injury? It depends. https://www.hcahoustonhealthcare.com/healthy-living/blog/when-to-use-heat-or-ice-for-an-injury-it-depends 

Bolder Athlete. The Ultimate Guide to Contrast Therapy: Sauna and Cold Plunge. https://www.bolderathlete.com/blog/contrast-therapy-cold-hot 

Runners World. What to eat before and after a run. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/nutrition/diet/a772129/perfect-your-post-run-nutrition/ 

ACE. No, 8 glasses a day isn’t how much water everyone should drink (WUSA). https://www.acefitness.org/about-ace/press-room/in-the-news/8391/no-8-glasses-a-day-isn-t-how-much-water-everyone-should-drink-wusa/