A Runner’s Guide to Tools That Help You Recover Faster

1. Reduce the risk of common running injuries: Proper recovery doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t sustain an injury like rolling an ankle on uneven pavement — but it can help prevent overuse injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and runner’s knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome). One study estimated that up to 70% of runners are subject to a preventable overuse injury each year. [5]
2. Prevent overtraining: While feeling sore after a run is common, overtraining syndrome is caused by excessive training without adequate recovery. Overtraining can affect more than just your muscles; it can impact your mental health, mood, hormones, and immune health and can lead to overuse injuries. [6, 7]
3. Improve performance: Being relatively free of injuries, soreness, fatigue and being mentally sharp boosts your overall running performance. In fact, a 2022 study of 264 endurance athletes found that the top three finishers used more recovery strategies than those who placed below them. [8]

• Heat therapy: Heat therapy can help to alleviate muscle soreness and stiffness. It increases blood flow — clearing out waste products in the blood that result from strenuous exercise. [9]
• Cold therapy: Cold therapy can help with acute pain (like a rolled ankle) by reducing swelling and inflammation from forming. It can also improve recovery. [10]
• Vibration: Vibration therapy provides a gentle massage that increases circulation and reduces tension, pain, and relaxation. It increases blood flow, making it effective for sensitive areas like joints or sore muscles. Studies show vibration therapy reduces delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) when used before or after a tough workout by decreasing pain, stiffness, and swelling. [11]

• Before a run: Use heat and vibration therapy for 5-10 minutes to prepare your muscles to hit the road. Still feeling sore from a recent hill workout? Using heat and vibration before your next run can help prep your legs.
• After a run: Use cold and contrast therapy on achy areas post-run. Apply 20 minutes of cold therapy every hour to help reduce inflammation and swelling. RecoveryTherm Cube and Knee devices offer built-in contrast therapy, automatically alternating between cold and heat therapy to maximize recovery.

• Percussive therapy: Percussive therapy stimulates tissues via pressure and vibration and can help with blood flow and oxygen delivery and reduce muscle tension. [12, 13] When used before exercise, it can help reduce DOMS and decrease the sensitivity to DOMS when used post-exercise as well. [14, 15] Percussive therapy can also help with feelings of pain. When we experience pain, the nervous system will try to protect that area, and often, the muscles around it become tight and sore themselves. Treating those muscles can help relieve tension, which in turn can help reduce pain in the adjacent area. [16, 17]
• Vibration therapy: Vibration is less intense than percussive therapy (and may be better suited if the area is sensitive). It can help promote circulation to reduce soreness, stiffness, and pain. [11]
• Infrared LED light therapy: The Theragun PRO Plus delivers infrared LED light directly to the body. Studies show that red and infrared light, in particular, can increase collagen content, improving joint strength. This can help to alleviate joint pain that runners often experience. When applied near the skin, infrared light creates a warming sensation on the skin. It can improve blood circulation, promote injury healing, and help alleviate pain. [18, 19]

• Warm up: Use the Theragun for 5-10 minutes before a run. Using an attachment of your choice, apply percussive therapy to the bottom of your feet, calves, hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, IT band, and hips for 30 seconds each.
• Recover: Use the Theragun to help reduce DOMS. Spend more time on each muscle group post-run. Apply percussive therapy for up to two minutes per muscle on the glutes, arches of feet, IT bands, quads, hamstrings, calves, shins, and hips, or any muscle groups that are particularly problematic for you.

RecoveryAir: Pneumatic Compression

Pneumatic compression boots, like RecoveryAir, are an effective way to improve many common ailments runners face — they can alleviate sore and stiff muscles and even temporarily decrease the swelling from running. While pneumatic compression is best known to influence muscle recovery — it can also improve cardiovascular recovery (such as blood pressure, cardiac output, and vascular resistance) to a pre-exercised state. [20, 21]

So, if you’re looking to kickstart your muscle and cardiovascular recovery, pneumatic compression can help. To experience targeted pneumatic compression, reach for RecoveryAir.

PRO TIP: Use the compression boots for 20-40 minutes the night before a long run for fresh legs the next day. After a hard run, throw on the boots for 40-60 minutes to kick off the recovery process.

TheraCup: Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy uses suction to provide relief to specific spots on the body. This therapy is popular among runners since it can be done at home for instant recovery.

Research shows cupping offers several benefits of interest to runners. It can relax muscles, reduce perceived pain (even more so than over-the-counter medications), and trigger the release of natural pain-relieving compounds in the brain. Cupping gives runners a way to find instant relief after tough workouts or races. [22, 23]

The TheraCup makes it easy for runners to experience the benefits of cupping therapy anytime. It combines suction, heat, and vibration to target sore spots and accelerate recovery. TheraCup is the ideal tool for runners to enhance relaxation, relieve tightness, and get back to running their best.

PRO TIP: Use TheraCup on areas that are particularly stiff and sore, like calves, quads, and hamstrings. Apply the TheraCup in the middle of the muscle and gently glide it for 2-5 minutes, moving carefully around the joints to help reduce muscle stiffness and soreness.

Key Takeaways

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