5 Tips for Soccer Players to Alleviate Achy Muscles

Sore muscles may not seem like a serious sports industry. Nevertheless, they can definitely cause you to experience considerable discomfort and also keep you from performing at your best during a match. Moreover, when you’ve been training or playing hard, you need to take care of your muscles to prevent a more serious injury from occurring. Here are some things that soccer players can do to soothe muscle inflammation.

1. Stay Hydrated

When you don’t stay well-hydrated, you’re a lot more susceptible to soft tissue injuries. These types of injuries can affect your muscles as well as your ligaments and tendons. Be sure to hydrate well before you’ve got a full day of practice or a match. Also, make it a point to stay hydrated while you’re being active and also in your recovery time. Staying well-hydrated will help you minimize inflammation after you’ve given your muscles a workout.

2. Take a CBD Supplement

CBD is an excellent natural-remedy to alleviate inflammation. It carries far less of the side effects traditionally found in NSAIDs and other over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. CBD works by interacting with your body’s natural endocannabinoid receptors. It can quell the transmission of pain signals through your nerve endings, and it can also improve inflammation in stiff and sore muscles. CBD gummies are a great way to give yourself a boost of anti-inflammatory relief, and the gummies are easy to pack in a gym bag

3. Get in an Ice Bath

Getting in a tub full of freezing cold water may sound a little hardcore, but a lot of professional soccer players swear by the importance of this post-match ritual. Submerging swollen muscles and joints will dramatically reduce inflammation. When you strain a muscle, you may not feel any type of pain or discomfort until after the inflammation sets in hours later. An ice bath beats inflammation to the punch and can spare you from experiencing any pain at all, even after very strenuous activity.

4. Use Kinesio Tape

During your training time, some strategically applied kinesio tape can take a lot of the burden off of aching muscles and make them feel stronger. This tape functions somewhat like a flexible and stretchy brace that supports your muscle movement. You can use simple strips or you can get specialized patches that are customized to accommodate certain areas such as your hamstrings or your neck. To apply the tape, start by removing just half of the plastic that covers the adhesive part. Put this section on the area that will serve as the anchor (the area that you want to pull a muscle towards). After the anchor is securely adhered, remove the rest of the backing from the adhesive and apply it to your skin.

Kinesio tape is usually pretty breathable, but the adhesive material is very strong and doesn’t become unstuck with a little sweat. Take care to avoid pulling it off too quickly to avoid hurting your skin. In general, it’s a good idea to remove it in the shower when it will peel off more easily.

5. Try a Pain Relieving Patch

You can apply patches infused with a pain-relieving ingredient directly to the site of a sore muscle. One of the most common ingredients in patches is menthol, which has a soothing and cooling effect. Many people find lidocaine to be a preferable remedy because it has a numbing and desensitizing effect. Look for a patch that offers both a cooling and numbing effect to get maximum relief. Also, look at the active ingredients of a product to determine the percentage of each medication that it contains. Most over-the-counter products contain a maximum of 4% lidocaine, but you may be able to get a prescription for patches with a higher concentration.

Exploring some different ways to relieve sore muscles may help you feel a lot more comfortable after you’ve been playing hard. By giving your muscles the chance to relax and repair themselves, you can speed up your healing time and focus on gearing up for your next match.