The Plague of Muscle Tightness

Muscle tightness is a common complaint among hockey players. And, while it is definitely uncomfortable, it can also be detrimental to a player’s performance and power while on the ice. That’s because tightness, even in just one area of the body, can negatively affect all the other areas of the body, leading to reduced strength, speed, and stability on the ice. Fortunately, there are many easy ways to fix muscle tightness.   

Common Complaints

Hockey players, like all athletes, can experience muscle tightness just about anywhere.

With that said, however, hockey players do tend to have some areas more commonly plagued by tightness than others due to how they use their bodies.

Some common areas of complaint for hockey athletes include:

l  Hips

l  Shoulders

l  Lower back

l  Calves

l  Achilles tendons

l  Biceps

Common Solutions

Fortunately, when hockey players do complain of muscle tightness, especially in the above areas, there are many options for relieving in.

Manual manipulation, stretching, and massage are very common options for relieving the pain and tightness. However, unless these manual methods are used in conjunction with other, longer-term forms of treatment, you’ll only be treating the symptoms and not the problem.

Strength training and flexibility training are absolutely necessary for keeping tightness at bay. Without strong, flexible muscles, the tightness is just going to keep coming back and will likely get worse with time. That’s because the tightness is occurring due to muscles that are too rigid and weak to function properly when put under stress.

By building stronger, more flexible muscles with the right training, including during the off-season, muscle tightness should no longer be a regular problem. And, when it does pop up, it can easily be relieved through manual methods.

So, don’t worry about muscle tightness. Just correct it with the proper training and a little manual help as needed.