The calf muscle pump and aching legs

Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Aching Legs Recovery
Fatigued Leg recovery using an
environmentally friendly recovery system
Aching legs are easy to develop and unless they have a medical contribution to them (and there
are many medical reasons so they should be investigated by a medical professional) they can
be relatively easy to relieve
If they are put in a position where they constantly ache, they can actually be the cause of
medical problems (see www.hazards.org/standing)
When you are on your feet all day the calf muscles start to fatigue, power stops being supplied
to the pump and the blood just pools around the ankles-the water (or lymph fluid) separates
from it and migrates into the tissues in and around the ankles

As it is not being pumped away fast enough from the lower legs, the ankles swell and if it
wasn’t for the ends of the toes it would all flow out of the body all over the ground
The Calf Muscle Pump

The calf muscle pump is a major part of circulation in the lower legs
All the fluids in the body gravitate down towards the lowest part of the body; the feet-gravity
holds it there and prevents it from going back up to the body for recycling and recirculation as
fresh blood
The calf muscles are the motors for a pump called the calf muscle pump that forces used
blood against gravity through one-way valves in the veins back up the body, but to provide the
power for this they need to be moving-it they don’t, they can’t contribute to circulation-so used
blood stays in the ankles and feet
Because the muscle tissues are not being refreshed with supplies of fresh blood, the muscles
fatigue and they ache with the legs increasing in weight as the fluid builds up-they are heavy to
carry around
Aching Leg Relief
The relief of aching legs can be approached in different ways and the decision of which way to
go is dependent on a number of factors-the biggest one being what other commitments you
have in your life at that present time and the time you have to commit to it
There is the passive way for those with time to spare and the active way for those without

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 1

http://www.aching-legs.org
 The calf muscle pump and aching legs
Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist
Passive Relief
The ‘passive’ option is the most recommended way to relieve aching legs

Find a quiet area and lie down with the legs elevated to let the fluid flow back
(Been there-done that-didn’t seem to work too well-I was stiff when I stood up
and went light headed)
If you are like the ultra marathon runners and walkers and do not have time to wait for
passive recovery to work at relieving those aching legs the active option is better

These are 2 people who have just been running for 3 days around a running track in all
weathers and they have aching legs
They suffer from sore feet, sore legs, swollen ankles, stiffness, wasted muscles, muscle cramps,
tiredness, mental fatigue, restless legs, sore skin, night pains, muscle spasm, muscle wastage,
swollen ankles, hyperthermia, hypothermia, temper tantrums, vomiting, food sensitivity,
allergies, rashes, loss of judgement-and that is the good part
Aching legs fatigued muscles and recovery
Someone with aching legs and ultra marathoners both have the same thing in common-how to
recover from their aching legs and fatigued muscles quickly, and the quickest most effective
way of doing this is simply to work the calf muscle pump so that the output of used blood and
the input of fresh blood is increased
To stop the muscles fatiguing, fresh oxygen and nutrient filled blood has to keep being
supplied to the muscles-but when the muscles are fatigued they can’t work at facilitating or
supplying their own needs

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 2

http://www.aching-legs.org
 The calf muscle pump and aching legs
Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist
There are 2 main ways of relieving them of soreness-passive and active

This is the passive way-waiting for the legs to recover themselves

Below is the pro-active result sheet from a 6 day event using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
Using an environmentally friendly pro-active leg recovery system is easier than you think
when you learn how to use the muscles to work on them selves
But an especially good way to recover from aching legs is to simply work the calf muscle
pump by hand to break the cycle of inactivity caused through muscle fatigue and get rid of
some of the depleted fluid so that fresh blood can enter the muscle tissues
The secret to leg recovery
The calf muscle pump
The calf muscles act as the motor for a pump to take it from the feet back to the body against
gravity through the venous system where it is re-nourished and recirculated-but to be working
they have to move.

Look at the photo above-how many towels and bottles of oil do you see?
None because the latest in non-polluting, non-technical method of leg recovery techniques is
being used

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 3

http://www.aching-legs.org
 The calf muscle pump and aching legs
Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist
The active way to help the legs recover is to learn how to work with the muscles
If you can use your hands you have the tools to do the job of recovery

Recovery from leg fatigue or ongoing leg maintenance

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation

Here I am giving a demonstration of leg recovery in Denmark using

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
More details and references on ultra marathon can be found on my websites
Everyone needs recovery after a tough day-and the fact that to get it blood to the
muscles in the legs needs refreshing
But to get that old depleted blood in the lower legs needs pumping out of them so that new fresh blood
can be pumped in-simple really

How much training and theory does it need to do this?

Very little because it is not specific
How did I discover Light Manual muscle Relaxation?

Because for my first 2 years in ultra marathon I used conventional recovery systems and they
really did not work-nothing changed, nothing improved-it was not until I accidentally changed
my approach from working on the muscles to working with them did things improve for both
myself and the ultra entrants

Below is a chart from when I discovered working with the muscles rather than
on them shows how much things did improve for the runners and walkers

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 The calf muscle pump and aching legs
Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist
If these figures are translated into recovery speed for the person with aching legs they
would be very happy

Results from 1995 Coburg 6 day footrace

Name Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

A Krouglikov 237.2 113.6 130 106 126 108 Kilometers
539 284 325 365 315 270 Laps

T Rusek 215.2 98.8 98 139.6 138.4 122.4 Kilometers

538 247 245 349 346 306 Laps

M T aylor 174.4 128.8 143.6 123.6 138.4 122.4 Kilometers

436 322 359 309 302 223 Laps

B Beauchamp 180.4 133.2 124 117.6 110 93.2 Kilometers

451 333 310 294 275 233 Laps

P Gray 150 134 105.2 94.8 111.6 106 Kilometers

375 335 263 237 279 265 Laps

D Parri s 138.4 108.4 106.8 116.4 106 107.2 Kilometers

346 271 267 274 265 268 Laps

I Davis 168 119.2 90 116.4 106 107.2 Kilometers

420 298 225 291 180 247 Laps

G Watts 132.2 96.4 99.2 104.4 92.8 133.6 Kilometers

328 241 248 261 232 334 Laps

C Young 142 91.2 90 97.6 88 92 Kilometers

355 228 225 244 220 230 Laps

D Kettle 138.2 86.8 90.8 95.2 94.4 84.4 Kilometers

332 217 227 238 236 212 Laps

R H ill 128 80.8 99.2 70 95.6 96.6 Kilometers

320 202 248 175 239 241 Laps

K Fisher 164 91.6 50 115.2 49.6 81.2 Kilometers

410 229 125 288 124 203 Laps

G Pollard 120 74.8 73.6 68.4 69.6 61.2 Kilometers

300 187 184 171 174 153 Laps
The above group came in for Light Manual Muscle Rel axation
The below group did not or had their own recovery people
T Rafferty 141.6 112.8 104.8 101.6 98 96.4 Kilometers
354 282 262 254 245 241 Laps

G McConnel 145.6 110.8 126.4 113.6 108.4 106 ki lometers

363 277 287 284 271 265 Laps

G Audley 152.8 110.8 126.4 113.6 114.8 95.2 ki lometers

S Scanlon 140.8 82 84 34 0 0 Kilometers

352 205 210 85 pulled out-bli sters Laps

J Timms 127.2 98.4 74.8 0 0 0 ki lometers

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 The calf muscle pump and aching legs
Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist
Quickly-easily and in an environmentally friendly way!
The World Run Recovery System is a simple system that is easy to use without
the need for equipment other than the hands

Resource Box

Michael Gillan is an Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist who has been a masseur around many
ultra long distance events both in Australia and internationally since he was a student in 1993

In 1995 while working at a 6 day run, he changed the approach to recovery of the athletes from
the conventional way of working on the muscles using the hands and fingers to increase muscle
blood circulation, to working with the muscles and making them work on themselves

The results from this changeover can be seen on the Coburg result sheet on page 5

In 1996 Michael went to the Nanango 1000 Mile 16 day event where it was tested and helped
the worlds 4-5 and 11th to achieve their distances

Other notable events the World Run Recovery System was tested on was World Run 1 with
Jesper Olsen www.worldrun.org and the World Run 2 training camp in Denmark in 2007

Aching legs should always be checked out by a medical professional before doing anything to
and with them because there are many medical reasons why they may be aching-see a
physician first

If you want more details go to my website at

http://www.aching-legs.org

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 6

http://www.aching-legs.org