Sports medicine doctor's recovery tips for those who ran Boston Marathon

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY. ALL RIGHT JOSH, THANK YOU. FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH NOW WITH THE BOSTON MARATHON IN THE REAR VIEW. RUNNERS WHO COMPLETED THE 26.2 MILES ARE HOPEFULLY NOW IN RECOVERY MODE. BUT AS WITH EVERYTHING THERE IS A RIGHT AND A WRONG WAY TO DO THAT HERE WITH ADVICE IS DOCTOR ADAM 1040 FROM MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM SPORTS MEDICINE. DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. WE WANT TO START WITH THOSE ACHES AND PAINS, FOLKS. DID RUN A MARATHON AFTER ALL. THE FIRST THOUGHT IS TO KICK BACK AND PUT YOUR FEET UP FOR A LITTLE WHILE. IS THAT THE RIGHT MOVE? SURE. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT ACHES AND PAINS ARE EXTREMELY COMMON, AND THEY REALLY REFLECT THE CUMULATIVE DAMAGE THAT THE BODY GOES THROUGH. AND COMPLETING THE 26.2 MILE DISTANCE. HOWEVER, WE REALLY ADVOCATE FOR ACTIVE RECOVERY BECAUSE BY CONTINUING TO MOVE, THIS PROMOTES BLOOD FLOW AND CAN HELP WITH SOFT TISSUE HEALING. SO THIS MIGHT BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH SIMPLE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WALKING AND AS PEOPLE FEEL BETTER. BEING ABLE TO CYCLE AND DO ELLIPTICAL AND OTHER CROSS TRAINING. IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON DIET. SO HAVING A GOOD AMOUNT OF PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATES ALONG WITH HYDRATION WILL ALLOW THE MUSCLES AND TISSUES TO HEAL. AND THEN ALSO DON’T FORGET ABOUT SLEEP. IDEALLY, 7 TO 8 HOURS PER NIGHT HELPS THE BODY. ALSO IN THE RECOVERY MODE, YOU MENTIONED WALKING RUNNERS ALWAYS WANT TO GET BACK OUT THERE. HOW LONG SHOULD YOU WAIT AND WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR EASING BACK INTO THINGS? YEAH, WELL, HAVING RUN A NUMBER OF MARATHONS MYSELF, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON BOTH YOUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS. THIS AFTER AFTER RUNNING AN EVENT, SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME BEFORE YOU GET INTO RUNNING. OTHER TIMES YOU FEEL GREAT AND YOU WANT TO GET OUT THE DOOR THE NEXT DAY IN GENERAL, IT’S IMPORTANT TO TAKE, UH, YOU KNOW, START WITH EASY RUNS, JUST WAYS TO CONTINUE TO MOVE. AND THOSE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE DONE RELATIVELY IN A PAIN FREE STATUS. UH, OR IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PAIN, IT SHOULD IMPROVE AS YOU WARM UP. NOW, YOU MOST RUNNERS WILL BE ABLE TO GET GET BACK INTO A TYPICAL, UH, RUNNING ROUTINE ANYWHERE FROM 2 TO 4 WEEKS AFTER THE MARATHON. HOWEVER, IF THERE’S A NEW PAIN THAT’S DEVELOPED OR OR SOME OTHER, UH, OLDER INJURY THAT SEEMS TO BE WORSE AFTER THE MARATHON AND ISN’T IMPROVING, THIS IS REALLY A TIME TO IDENTIFY SPORTS MEDICINE PROVIDERS, SUCH AS ONE AT MGB, WHERE WE CAN TRY TO HELP FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT INJURY IS AND HOW TO ACTIVELY REHABILITATE. IT’S EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN ALL OF THE MARATHON EXCITEMENT, KIND OF GET THE BUG AND MAYBE BE INSPIRED TO TAKE UP RUNNING YOURSELF. IF YOU’RE NOT A RUNNER THOUGH, BUT YOU THINK YOU WANT TO BE, WHAT’S THE BEST STRATEGY TO GET A RUNNING ROUTINE STARTED? SO, UH, YOU KNOW, RUNNING IS AN EXTREMELY POPULAR SPORT. UH, ABOUT 20 MILLION AMERICANS ENJOY IT EACH YEAR, AND IT USUALLY CAN BE ENJOYED BY MOST INDIVIDUALS. UM, IN THE EARLY STAGES OF GETTING BACK INTO RUNNING OR STARTING RUNNING FOR A FIRST TIME, YOU MAY HAVE SOME ACHES AND PAINS. UM, AND, AND THAT WOULD BE A NORMAL EXPERIENCE IF YOU HAVE UNDERLYING, UH, CARDIAC DISEASE OR OTHER MEDICAL CONCERNS, TALKING TO A PHYSICIAN BEFORE STARTING, UH, BACK INTO A RUNNING ROUTINE WOULD BE RECOMMENDED. AND, UM, I ADVISE GOING FOR EASY RUNS ON SOFT SURFACES TO START, UH, DIRT OR GRASS, BECAUSE IT TENDS TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS AVAILABLE ONLINE, INCLUDING A COUCH TO FIVE K PROGRESSION, WHICH REALLY HELPS TO KIND OF DESCRIBE A GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE RUNNING VOLUME AND INTENSITY. AND TAKING WALK BREAKS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT’S DONE IN A SAFER WAY. THAT REDUCES THE RISK FOR INJURY. AND FINALLY, IT CAN BE REALLY HELPFUL TO DEVELOP A GOAL OR TO IDENTIFY A FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE THAT YOU CAN GO OUT THE DOOR WITH. UH, FOR RUNS. THAT HELPS TO SET GOALS AND DEVELOP A ROUTINE THAT WILL KEEP YOU MOTIVATED. ALWAYS GOOD TO BRING A FRIEND ALONG. ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR ADAM 1040 WITH MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL O