In this article I am going to be sharing my wisdom on everything Sports Massage and Sports Therapy and how it can benefit you, your training & day to day life. I have been a Sports Massage Therapist for almost 3 years now and have seen first-hand how much Massage and sports therapy can help people. If you had bad eyesight you would head to the opticians, so why not head to a sports massage therapist to help your muscles.
What is Sports massage?
Unlike your normal relaxing holistic spa massage with scented candles and incenses, sports massage targets the bodies soft tissues such as fascia, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. By targeting these specific groups of tissues therapists can release stressed and tense muscles and trigger points to increase range of movement, flexibility, increase the blood flow and help stretch and return muscles to their normal function. Most sports massage treatments start out with a postural assessment and movement tests. This gives the therapist a visual image of how you stand, move and function. As a therapist myself I find that this is the most important part of a treatment, if your therapist is not testing and retesting your movements and just getting you straight onto the bed without a chat about your body, I highly suggest finding another therapist.
But the name!
The most important factor is forgetting the name ‘Sports’. Yes, that puts an awful lot of people off coming for a sports massage and I am constantly hearing ‘But I don’t do sports!’. Just because you don't play sport doesn't mean that you can't benefit from sports massage and soft tissue release. Weather, you’re the next Usain Bolt or never worn a running trainer in your life you will still have muscle tightness, dysfunctional movements patterns and aches and pains you think you have to live with.
What happens on the inside?
A massage may feel great but there is so much more going on inside the body. Massage is not only a massive release on your muscles as they are stretched but it is also a huge release on the rest of your body including the lymphatic system. The lymphatic systems job is to filter out all of the waste products from the blood. When you massage tight muscles, they release lots of built-up fluid that is then collected up by the lymphatic system. You will often find your nose becomes snotty and you can get thirsty mid or post massage. Therefore, as therapists we encourage clients to have a big drink after a massage to help flush the lymphatic system.
Injury, Recovery & Self Care:
Sports massage is not just great for muscle tension but also for recovery from muscular injury. Regular sports massages can reduce the risk of injury onset and can also aid injury recovery by increasing blood flow and movement function to the injured area. Depending on the acute pain and grade of the injury it is worth chatting to a therapist about how they can assist your recovery process. I see lots of shoulder injuries and leg injuries in my treatment room and lots of clients find that a massage really increases the recovery process. They also find that they can achieve more during their training post massage. There has been a big push on self care in the past few years and massage treatments can really come into being a part of a self care routine. We have all been tired, sore and feel like we are about to burn out and this is a great time to get yourself booked in for a treatment.
So, there is a little run down on all things sorts massage. For more info or if you have any burning questions make sure to pop Chloe a message.
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