Sports massage includes working with athletes to increase their endurance and performance, as well as help them recover more quickly recover from the competition.
Sports massage, is not usually associated with a calm, Zen-like atmosphere, in order to relax the subject. Rather, it is geared towards helping the athlete to increase their potential output of endurance and performance when it counts – when winning is on the line.
Sports massage therapy is geared towards athletes of every kind, from world-class professionals to weekend joggers. The particulars of the sports massage techniques are specific to athletes sport of choice.
Sports massage is designed to reduce injuries and alleviate inflammation. This method promotes flexibility, remove fatigue, improves endurance, help prevent injuries and prepares the athletes body to compete at their absolute best.
You don’t have to be a first string player, or even play in professional sports in order to be able to benefit from the laser-focused intent and outcome of sports massage. Because it is designed to both reduce injuries before they happen, through strengthening and preparing the muscles and surrounding tissue and ligaments for optimal output when called for, as well as alleviating inflammation before, during and after the game, inning or event is over, it is something that every athlete, whether professional or novice, can and should benefit from.
Whether you are a weekend jogger, a word class professional or ‘just’ someone who works out or bikes occasionally, sports massage is geared towards you – in short, it’s meant for ANY person that asks above and beyond a normal performance from their body. Areas of the body where sports massage really shines is that of helping the body recover from overused, repetitive and aggressive movements.
Sports massage therapy is seeing a wide gain in popularity as more and more people see it as a strong, natural contender against muscle relaxants or other pain reducing across the counter drugs or other means.
One of the more important key benefits of sports massage in comparison to other modalities or types of massage is the ability for the massage therapist to zero in on, or target key muscle-tendon joints. The importance of this finding was underscored in a 2010 study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning, where it was found that even just a 30-second massage improved hip-flexor range of motion. How would/could that improve YOUR game, as a professional athlete?
Another study, conducted by Margaret Jones, Ph.D. of the American College of Sports Medicine, clearly demonstrated a “…notable trend toward decreased muscle soreness in the athletes who received massage either before or after exercise”.
As we can clearly see, anyone who participates regularly in strenuous or even casual physical activity can improve their rebound time from soreness and muscle/tendon stress, or even see improved performance levels, when integrating sports massage every week or two into their sports regimen.
Those athletes that have made the decision to enjoy the benefits of sports massage have noticed that the specially-designed massage has been known to promote greater flexibility and remove muscle fatigue. They have also noticed improvements in endurance, prevent injuries and an ability to perform at elevated levels of competition – their absolute best.
MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
Alongside Sport Massage is Myofascial release. Myofascial release works the muscles and fascia. The Fascia is a dense woven covering that interpenetrates muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein. Myofascial release using sustained pressure and stretching of tissues to release restrictions and eliminate pain typically caused by falls or sudden impact.
Myofascial Release techniques are primarily focused on treating injuries brought about by specific conditions such as slips, falls or sudden impacts which are responsible for creating acute trauma to the fascia and/or muscles and tendons. This technique is used to create a localized and sustained pressure and release stretching of tissues in order to remove restrictions and eliminate the pain caused by the trauma.