What?
What is a Sports Massage?
A sports massage is a deep tissue, hands-on treatment used to manipulate the musculoskeletal system (muscles, tendons and ligaments) in order to improve its overall efficiency.
What is the difference between sports massage and sports therapy?
In a nutshell ‘Sports Therapy’ is more concerned with the treatment of injury, whereas ‘Sports massage’ is about the relief of tired and aching muscles and is more designed to help keep you flexible and free from injury.
Who?
Who can benefit from a Sports Massage?
Everyone! Whether a regular competitor, a newcomer, someone returning from injury, someone hoping to prevent injury or someone who just wants to benefit from the positive aspects of a sports massage.
Sports Massage is not just for the Elite athletes or professionals; it is for EVERYBODY!
When?
When should I have a sports massage?
- Prevention
- Routine maintenance that keeps muscles and soft tissue flexible and mobile.
- Targeting areas that may have caused issues in the past to prevent reoccurrences.
- Performance
- Specific preparation such as pre and post event massage by boosting circulation and reducing tension.
- Mental preparation before and relaxation after helping the body return to its optimal state.
- Recovery
- Rehabilitation after an injury by increasing the speed of healing and reducing discomfort.
- Recovery after a race or training session allowing the body to be prepared to go again.
“Prevention – Performance – Recovery!”
Why?
Why do I need a Sports Massage?
- Psychological wellbeing – Can make you feel good
Massage stimulates your mechanoreceptors (sensory receptors which respond to touch), and as your body relaxes, endorphins are released which lift the mood, increase a sense of calm and reduce anxiety. Athlete’s use massage to help them mentally prepare for an event.
- Ease DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)
DOMS is the discomfort, stiffness, aches and pains experienced hours or even days after a training session or strenuous exercise. Massage will encourage blood and lymph flow which can help ease muscle tiredness (fatigue) and encourage better oxygenation.
- Reduce Pain
Tight and/or damaged muscles hurt and benefit from being released. Tense muscles hold onto lactic acid (a metabolic waste product), a massage helps to get the fluids and nutrients flowing helping the body release its natural endorphins which assist in recovery.
- Increase flexibility / mobility
Massage strokes on soft tissue improve muscular mobility and release accumulated tensions of tight muscles after exercise. It helps correct imbalances by warming and stretching the tissues and increasing the blood flow to the muscles. Specific techniques can separate muscles fibres that have become ‘stuck’ to one another or even to bones and releasing this will ease mobility and improve flexibility.
- Improved circulation
Softer massaged muscles improve the supply of nutrients to tissues and allows better oxygen circulation which in turn will improve the health and aid repair of over trained/over worked muscles.
- Performance Boosting
With the improved circulation and oxygen flow the muscles are lithe, mobile, nourished and free from tension and toxins and will therefore, lead to a higher quality and more sustainable level of performance.
