Sports Massage developed out of the need for professional athletes & sportsmen to have skilled massage care which would help them recover from injuries faster, reduce the chances of them injuring themselves & improve their performance. Nowadays, this kind of care is just as appreciated by amateur sports people & those who exercise regularly. Today, people of all ages are taking up sports & exercise again, with the desire to improve their health & to de-stress. These activities can be of great benefit but they do also open us up to more possibilities of injuring ourselves.
Sports Massage is for everyone
It is also worth noting that Sports Massage can be very useful for anyone who injures or strains themselves in some way, be it whilst gardening, lifting something too heavy or sneezing! This kind of treatment is no longer reserved just for those who exercise regularly.
Essentially, Sports Massage is particularly helpful for the faster & better recovery of specific injuries to muscles, ligaments tendons & deep fascia, incurred through sport or any strenuous activity.
Oftentimes, mechanical massage machines & electrotherapy equipment are used by other practitioners to help with sports injuries but they do not give any direct feedback about what is happening in the injured tissues. However, the Sports massage therapist is acutely aware of these changes through being able to feel it with his hands & can therefore respond instantly, adapting the treatment as need be.
The competitive sportsperson of course will find Sports Massage very beneficial, as they can combine it with their training programmes. This will help:
• improve performance & suppleness
• prevent overuse injuries
• speed up recuperation after injury
• assist in recovery between intense training sessions
A Sports massage session will involve therapeutic massage, & may also include stretching & the giving of specific exercises, to help strengthen or stretch the body in ways that will speed up injury recovery or reduce the risk of future injury.
by Jem Friar
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