Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Quad Spasm/Damage After Smashing?

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    • 09/12/2013 at 10:28 am #70468
      AvatarKatie Hemphill
      Participant

      Ok, so this is about as confusing as it is ridiculous. 

      My workout the other day had a pretty rough lunge component, so the following day I was, of course, doing some smashing on the foam roller. Pretty routine, nothing out of the ordinary, but maybe an hour later, the area I was smashing (superior/later quad, TFL) began to tighten up. A few hours later, after giving a running lesson to a new client, this little patch of tissue hit full lockdown. The site is tender, and that thigh is somewhat swollen as well. Stairs are very… challenging.
      My only thought as to what the mechanism for this issue was is that I was pretty dehydrated at the time I was smashing, though I didn’t realize it. Would that alone really set me up for such a brutal post-smashing lock-up?
      Here I am two days later, still pretty stiff, though I’d say mildly better. I haven’t really attempted much with it aside from some gentle voodoo band stuff to try and get the swelling down. 

      Anyone have any ideas? I’ve never had anything like this happen before.

    • 09/12/2013 at 5:27 pm #72753
      AvatarStacy Kellough
      Member

      Sounds like a pretty strange reaction to some smashing the day following a WOD. Dehydration definitely could be a huge component in this response if you did not rehydrate well after your WOD. Best results for working on sliding surfaces/smashing is to do it immediately after your WOD. 10-15 minutes worth of smashing following your WOD on the muscles that you used predominately in those movements is recommended. This also will help you down regulate following an intense training session and help improve your recovery while you are sleeping. 

      Best bet now is to try and resolve the residual swelling. Get your voodoo band and follow the recommendations in this video Kelly put out for ankle swelling, video. Always wrap distal to proximal so that you push the swelling toward the heart. 
      Good luck with your training.
      Danny
      MWOD Team Member 
    • 09/12/2013 at 11:45 pm #72758
      AvatarKatie Hemphill
      Participant

      Thanks for the advice, Danny. 

      I strapped the voodoo on a couple times earlier, and it definitely helped loosen things up for a while. It restored quite a bit of proprioception, which was nice because my leg kept buckling under me a little bit the first few steps after sitting for a while. I’m going to give it another dose now, and try to hit it intermittently over the course of the day.
    • 09/14/2013 at 12:11 pm #72766
      AvatarKatie Hemphill
      Participant

      Well, it’s a few days later, and the situation has definitely improved. I was scooting around all day yesterday training clients, and being forced to get up and move made a huge difference (garbage out, groceries in, etc). Still pretty stiff, but on the mend.

      I think I must have been way more dehydrated than I expected, at the time, and I think it’s like you said, Danny, and I didn’t hydrate enough the afternoon and evening following the previous day’s WOD.
      I guess the take away here is don’t assume you’re rehydrated just because you slammed a bunch of water immediately after a workout. Rehydrate intermittently for a while afterwards, and make sure your tissues aren’t all dry and deflated when you smash.
      (I’ve never wanted a Marc Pro so bad in my life.)
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