Curling Recovery: After the Game and After a Bonspiel Weekend

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Monday morning after a bonspiel. Five games in three days, a banquet, not quite enough sleep, and now your sliding knee is stiff on the stairs, your low back reminds you of every hard sweep and your shoulders feel like you’ve been scrubbing floors, because you have. Curling rarely leaves you wrecked after one league game, but stacked games, cold ice and long weekends add up, for juniors, college curlers, league regulars and Olympians alike. This page covers curling recovery: what to do after a game, after a bonspiel weekend, and through a long season, plus the tools many curlers use.

General information, not medical advice. Pain that doesn’t settle, swelling or a knee that gives way needs a sports medicine doctor, PT or athletic trainer. Back to the curling hub.

Right after the game

• Get warm and dry. Swap a sweaty base layer for a dry one before you sit in the warm room. Cold, damp muscles stiffen fast.
• Move gently for five minutes. A short walk, a few hip-flexor and hamstring stretches, and slow arm circles feel good after holding a deep lunge and sweeping. Don’t expect miracles, though: a 2018 research review found that a cool-down does little for next-day soreness or performance. Do it because it feels good.
• Eat and drink. The American College of Sports Medicine and its partners suggest some protein (about 15 to 25 grams) with carbohydrate in the hours after exercise, and fluids to replace what you lost. A sandwich and a glass of milk counts. Go easy on the broomstacking drinks if you have another game tomorrow; heavy drinking slows recovery.
• Check your knees and hands. A sore trailing knee from contact with the ice, or a blister from the broom, is easier to deal with tonight than next week.

Recovering from a bonspiel weekend

A bonspiel can mean six or seven games in a weekend, far more deliveries and sweeps than your body is used to from one league game a week. A few simple habits make Sunday and Monday better:

• Protect your sleep. Adults need seven or more hours a night, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine; teens need 8 to 10. Research on athletes’ sleep points to the usual culprits: late caffeine, alcohol close to bedtime, screens and changing wake times. On a bonspiel weekend, a short nap between draws can help, and leaving the banquet a little earlier often matters more.
• Share the sweeping. If your team has a fifth player, rotate. Switch the side you sweep on so one shoulder and one side of your back don’t do all the work.
• Loosen up between draws. A few minutes on a foam roller for thighs, hips and upper back, or a massage gun on the thighs and calves. A large research review found massage was among the most effective recovery methods for soreness and fatigue.
• Take Monday easy. A walk, a bike ride or a swim gets the blood moving without more lunging. Our active recovery day ideas has more.

Tools many curlers use

None of these is required, and none treats an injury, but they’re popular for a reason. A compact massage gun like the Theragun Mini fits in a curling bag. A foam roller like the TriggerPoint GRID works on the thighs, hips and upper back. And a cushioned recovery slide like the OOFOS OOahh is a relief after hours in flat curling shoes. Avoid using a massage gun over an injury, a numb area or the front of the neck, and check with a doctor first if you have a clotting or circulation problem or are pregnant.

Compare more options in our best massage guns, best foam rollers and best recovery shoes guides.

Knees, back and shoulders: when soreness isn’t just soreness

Normal post-game soreness fades within a day or two and feels better as you move. Get it checked if pain is sharp or in one spot, gets worse game after game, wakes you at night, or comes with swelling, locking or giving way in the knee. AAOS notes that front-of-knee pain from the patellofemoral joint often responds to strengthening the thigh and hip muscles, which a PT can set up. Back pain with leg weakness or bladder or bowel changes needs a doctor right away. Our curling injuries page has the details.

Across the season

• Keep up off-ice strength. Two short sessions a week of leg, hip and trunk work make each game less of a strain. See curling training.
• Track how hard it felt. A 2025 study of Olympic curlers found that rating each session’s effort on a simple scale and multiplying by its length tracked training load well. Any curler can do this in a notebook, or let a watch do it; see curling wearables.
• Young curlers need rest days. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises one to two days a week off organized sport and time away from any single sport during the year.

For the bigger picture, see our athlete recovery routine guide, and for another tournament-weekend sport, bowling recovery.

Curling recovery: FAQs

Why am I so sore after curling?

The delivery holds your legs and hips in a deep lunge, and sweeping works your shoulders, chest, back and trunk in hard bursts. If you’re new or just played a bonspiel, that’s more than your body is used to. Soreness should fade in a day or two.

How do I recover between bonspiel games?

Change into dry layers, eat something with carbohydrate and protein, drink water, move gently for a few minutes, and warm up again before your next draw. A short nap helps if you have the time.

Should I ice my knee after curling?

Many people find a cold pack eases a sore, puffy knee for a short while. If the knee swells, locks, gives way or stays painful, see a sports medicine doctor or PT rather than just icing it each week.

Are massage guns good for curlers?

Many curlers use one on the thighs, calves and upper back after games, and massage in general has good research support for soreness. Keep it off injuries, numb areas and the neck, and check with a doctor if you have a medical condition.