There are various benefits to receiving massages regularly as part of a health and fitness routine for all walks of life. However, coaches and athletes alike will say that getting sports massages have significantly helped them improve injury recovery time and/or performance, it can also be used to prepare for an event or afterwards during recovery. The primary option for these people is sports massage. Sports massage is carried out by qualified sports massage or deep tissue therapists.
A sports or deep tissue massage isn’t relaxing, but if you’re experiencing an injury or a particular injury, this massage is the most suitable to speed up recovery. Sports people may primarily want a deep tissue/sports massage, but on the other hand, they may also feel anxious and nervous, especially if they have an upcoming game or event that’s really important to them, in which case a more relaxing massage may be more appropriate.
What is Sports Massage?
Sports massage may work on all of the soft tissues throughout the body that focus on or are relevant to a specific sport. Sports massage therapists use various techniques and movements to be effective. Some of the methods include:
- Petrissage (Kneading)
- Vibration
- Swedish style massage
- Gliding
- Effleurage (Stroking)
- Compression
- Tapotement (Rhythmic Striking)
- Stretching
- Trigger Points
- Percussion
- Friction
These massage techniques and movements are implemented depending on what the goal of the treatment is. For example, to help an athlete’s body become productive and achieve their full potential you may be looking at reducing tension and stress caused by overtraining, rather than a set of techniques to break down adhesions and increase blood flow to the area which will help with healing of the tissues. This way, it can significantly help the physical condition and performance of any athlete, helping to reduce the likelihood of further injuries.
Here are some of the other benefits of having a sports massage:
Body Relaxation
Believe it or not, a benefit of having a sports massage can be to relax the body too. A massage can activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is the part of our nervous system which promotes rest and relaxation. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sporty person or not, any type of massage can encourage body relaxation. While being in a state of relaxation, you’re also minimising or letting go of the stress your body is holding on to.
The relaxed and lowered-tension state of the body encourages focus. This is a good thing for athletes before going to an event, competition, group exercise, or a game. It is said that the more your body is relaxed, the better and more focussed you can become in your activities.
Increases Flexibility and Range of Motion
As a person who exercises for fun daily or as an athlete, an improvement in flexibility and increased range of motion will help improve overall performance. It can also lower the risk of having an injury and speed up recovery time.
Getting sports massage or other massage improves flexibility and range of motion by increasing the length of the muscles and tissues. When muscles are shortened by injury, overuse or poor posture, they are more at risk of tears and damage.
Reduces Inflammation in the Body
Regular sports massages can help keep the muscles in good physical condition and healthy by reducing inflammation from micro-tears caused by training. Often, the muscles will be in a state of exercise induced trauma and inflammation during strenuous exercise, which helps them to rebuild and become stronger. To recover quickly from this state, we can improve blood and fluid dynamics which feed into the tissues.
Pain Reduction
Usually, when there’s inflammation in the body, there is often an amount of pain. Applying massage to a particular area of the body with inflammation could also help reduce the pain you feel. Also, tight muscles can be painful – helping them to relax means that we can help reduce pain which comes from that.
Massage is Beneficial to more than Muscles
Muscles might be the primary benefactors of sports massage, but for people who have tried a massage therapy session, they may also get a feeling of enhanced attentiveness, reduced anxiety, improved mood, and relaxation. And so, massage is something that improves not only physical performance but psychologically as well.
Aside from the mentioned benefits above, here are also some of the benefits produced by massage therapy:
- Relieving everyday stress
- Helping relaxation
- Aiding in sleep
- Promoting wellbeing
Massage has a lot of excellent benefits to the body, however it is important to remember that you may need more than just one treatment to get the results you are after. Whether you’re an athlete or not, getting regular massages will help improve your overall physical condition. There’s more to massage than just helping you relax, and these benefits can definitely improve and enhance your body to help release it’s potential. Are you looking for a sports massage therapist? Call us on 0191 640 7322. Or send us an email through info@osteopathyandtherapy.co.uk.