Emerging research shows that a myofascial approach to sports injury is important.
However, when it comes to sport injury, the focus is often solely on the muscles. New research suggest that effective recovery techniques should address the surrounding connective tissues, including fascia and tendons.
According to a new systematic review by Wilke et al., only 12.7% of muscle strain injuries are isolated to the muscle itself.
The vast majority—involve connective tissues, with 32% affecting the fascia (myofascial injuries) and 68% occurring at the myotendinous junction.
These findings strongly support the methodologies used by Vive Recovery Studio. They emphasize improving tissue pliability, reducing pain, and addressing the full spectrum of tissues involved in movement and recovery.
Here’s how the research aligns with Vive’s approach, along with actionable self-care tips for athletes.
1. Manual Therapy and Myofascial Techniques
Muscle, fascia, and tendon are distinct yet interconnected structures that together support movement and force transmission.
Muscle consists of contractile fibers that actively generate force. Embedded within the muscle structure is the deep fascia, a specialized connective tissue that surrounds, separates, and connects the muscle fibers and fascicles (bundles of fibers).
This fascia extends throughout the muscle, integrating with other connective tissues to form a supportive network.
Tendons, which connect muscles to bones, are an extension of this connective tissue system, transmitting the force generated by muscle contractions to facilitate movement.
Since deep fascia is integral to the muscle’s internal structure, it plays a crucial role in distributing forces, maintaining muscle shape, and enabling efficient movement.
The Wilke et al. study emphasizes the importance of this connective tissue network, revealing that nearly one-third of injuries involve the fascia.
Because fascia is often more pain-sensitive than muscle and contributes to force transmission, addressing fascial health during rehabilitation is essential.
At Vive Recovery Studio, manual therapy techniques such as myofascial release, myofascial decompression cupping, and instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) target the fascia to improve pliability, break down adhesions, and alleviate pain.
By using a myofascial approach to sports injury, Vive’s approach helps restore functional movement and prevent the compensatory patterns that can lead to further injury.
Self-Care Tip: Use a foam roller or massage ball at home for myofascial release. Spend 30-60 seconds applying pressure on tight spots in areas like the calves, quads, and back. Follow up with gentle stretching to enhance tissue elasticity. This practice, done 3-4 times per week, can help maintain optimal tissue quality.
2. Eccentric and Isometric Training Programs
The study found that 68% of muscle-related injuries involve the myotendinous junction, a key site where muscle fibers connect to tendons.
Tendons are slow to heal due to their lower blood supply compared to muscles, making injuries in this area particularly challenging.
Eccentric exercises—movements where the muscle lengthens under tension—have been shown to promote tendon health and support collagen remodeling.
Meanwhile, isometric exercises, which involve contracting the muscle without changing its length, can help manage pain and influence remodeling in the tendon specifically during rehabilitation.
At Vive, eccentric and isometric training are integral to custom prehab and return-to-sport programs, aiming to enhance tissue remodeling and improve resilience.
These exercises strengthen the muscle-tendon unit and improve the tendon’s ability to handle the stresses of athletic activities, thus reducing the risk of re-injury.
Self-Care Tip: Incorporate exercises like eccentric calf raises or Nordic hamstring curls into your routine. Perform 3-5 sets of 3-5 repetitions, focusing on a slow lowering phase (3-5 seconds). For isometric work, try knee extensions or wall sits, gradually increasing the duration as your strength improves. These exercises can be included 2-3 times per week to support muscle-tendon health.
3. Dynamic Stretching and Mobility Work
Fascia’s role in force transmission and movement is crucial for athletic performance, especially during dynamic actions like jumping or sprinting. The research indicates that stiff fascia can impede force absorption and increase injury risk.
Improving tissue pliability through dynamic stretching and mobility work prepares the fascia and muscles for the demands of sport.
Vive incorporates dynamic myofascial work and assisted stretching into recovery sessions. This helps enhance mobility and reduce stiffness in critical areas such as the hips, shoulders, and spine. It helps athletes maintain flexibility, improve range of motion, and support better force distribution across the connective tissues.
Self-Care Tip: Include dynamic stretches in your warm-up routine, such as leg swings, arm circles, and hip rotations for 5-10 minutes before workouts. This prepares the muscles and fascia for activity. After training, focus on static stretches to improve flexibility and tissue length.
4. Tech + Tissue Work In Recovery Sessions
Since 99% of muscle strain injuries involve connective tissues, recovery should target multiple tissue types for a more effective outcome. The Wilke et al. study supports using a variety of techniques to address the different tissues involved in recovery, including muscle, fascia, and tendons.
Vive’s recovery sessions combine several modalities, such as pneumatic compression, red light therapy, cryotherapy, and electrical stimulation, each targeting different aspects of tissue health.
Pneumatic compression helps improve circulation, red light therapy supports collagen production, cryotherapy reduces inflammation, and electrical stimulation helps manage pain and muscle activation.
Together, these techniques provide a comprehensive approach to healing and recovery.
Self-Care Tip: While not everyone has access to advanced recovery modalities, athletes can still mimic some benefits at home. Red light therapy wraps and electrical stimulation devices are more accessible and affordable than ever. Pneumatic compression devices that used to $2-3k can now be bought for $500-$800 to enhance recovery.
5. Targeted Pain Management and Tissue Tune-Ups
The study highlights that injuries involving fascia are associated with a higher level of pain. This makes sense since fascia is more pain-sensitive than muscle. Managing pain effectively in these tissues can help athletes return to training sooner and avoid compensatory movements that may cause additional injuries.
While masking pain to continue training and competing can put you at risk, using some pain relief some you can move in a therapeutic exercise is very different.
At Vive, tissue tune-ups and targeted pain management techniques are a key part of recovery sessions. Vive Recovery Sessions include a combination of manual therapy and modalities like electrical stimulation or red light therapy to enhance the pain-relieving effects of treatment.
By addressing the underlying issues causing discomfort, Vive helps athletes heal more effectively.
Self-Care Tip: Using modalities and/or short-term over the counter NSAIDs to reduce pain and local inflammation can be an effective strategy. Many people have become concerned by the myth that NSAIDs interfere with tissue healing. However, the intelligent use of them can help you heal better by allowing earlier movement and strengthening.
6. Nutritional Support for Tissue Recovery
When taking a myofascial approach to rehabbing an injury, we have to consider how those connective tissues rebuild.
Optimizing collagen synthesis is important for the healing of fascia and tendons. The research suggests that incorporating collagen supplements, especially when combined with vitamin C, can support collagen production and tissue repair.
While Vive focuses on physical recovery strategies, nutritional support complements their methods. Athletes are encouraged to take collagen peptides with vitamin C before recovery sessions to amplify the effects of physical therapies.
Self-Care Tip: Take 5-15 grams of collagen peptides along with 50-100 mg of vitamin C about 30-60 minutes before workouts or recovery activities. This supports collagen synthesis in response to mechanical loading from exercises like eccentric training.
Practical Considerations for Using A MyoFascial Approach To Sports Injury
The Wilke et al. study makes it clear that effective recovery should encompass all components of the musculoskeletal system, not just muscles. Vive Recovery Studio’s comprehensive approach targets fascia, tendons, and muscles in an integrated recovery strategy to reduce pain, improve mobility, and prevent re-injury. Here’s how athletes can incorporate these principles into their self-care routines:
- Regularly address fascial stiffness using foam rollers or massage balls to perform myofascial release.
- Include both eccentric and isometric exercises to support tendon health and tissue remodeling.
- Incorporate dynamic stretching and static stretching into your warm-up and cooldown routines.
- Use a combination of recovery techniques, such as cryotherapy and infrared therapy, to target inflammation and tissue repair.
- Support recovery nutritionally with collagen and vitamin C supplements.
Conclusion
Research shows that muscle recovery should extend beyond muscle fibers to include fascia and myotendinous structures, which are involved in the majority of muscle strain injuries.
Vive Recovery Studio’s methods reflect this broader approach, incorporating manual therapy, specialized exercises, multi-modal recovery techniques, and nutritional advice to comprehensively target the interconnected tissues of the body.
With this holistic approach, athletes can achieve more effective recovery outcomes, maintain resilient connective tissues, and perform at their best while minimizing injury risk.
By embracing a broader view of muscle recovery and addressing the myofascial components, athletes can unlock their full potential and stay active for the long term.
