Many people believe you have to be a competitive athlete to benefit from Sports Massage or that it might be too painful for them. This is not the case.
From supporting your general wellbeing through to aiding in injury prevention and treatment, Sports Massage is suitable for everyone. Yes, Sports Massage is a firmer touch than a relaxing Holistic, Spa or Beauty treatment but it doesn’t need to be tourture, and a good massage therapist will adjust the pressure of touch during a treatment to your individual requirements.
What are the different uses of Sports Massage?
Pre-event: Whatever your sport or physical challenge, Sports Massage helps to relieve muscle tension and tightness to prepare your tissues, helping to optimise your upcoming performance.
Post-event: Aiding in the recovery of the muscles after exercise, Sports Massage helps to alleviate any stiffness and DOMS by improving circulation and blood flow. This promotes the removal of built up waste products, any inflammation and scarring caused to the tissues.
Maintenance: Quite simply, the perfect addition to your training routine for injury prevention! Your therapist will be able to pick up on any potential problem areas and work through any ‘niggles’, allowing you to quickly jump on problems before noticable injury develops. Regular massage also aids the recovery from training and maintains optimal condition.
A few of many key benefits of Sports Massage…
- Injury Prevention – Assessment of key movement patterns, mobility and strength testing performed during appointments can indicate areas of weakness, tightness, or dysfunction with the ability to break down any adhesions or areas of tightness improving tissue quality and function.
- Decreases muscle tension – Releasing tight and sore muscles, increasing the range of movement available at the joints providing smoother and pain-free movements.
- Pain Relief – Massage can promote the release of endorphins, a natural form of pain relief. Through massage, any metabolic irritants found in the muscles will be reduced as the muscles relax.
- Rehabilitation after an injury – Massage can help facilitate return to sport after an injury through increasing blood flow to the muscles, reducing any tension or dysfunctions, breaking down any scar tissue, increasing and assisting mobility and function.
- Promotes Relaxation and Stress Relief – Massage stimulates the release of endorphins and the stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system helping to reduce anxiety and feelings of stress, and promote improved sleep quality and mood
- Improve Recovery – massage promotes an increase in blood circulation bringing more nutrients and oxygens to the muscles, aiding the removal of waste products and toxins, increasing tissue elasticity allowing the body to recover faster and more efficiently
