Important Considerations In Finding The Best Sports Massage Therapist
Important Considerations In Finding The Best Sports Massage Therapist
Blog Article
Benefits of Sports Massage
Whether you’re an athlete pushing your physical limits or a weekend warrior taking on your daily workout, sports massage is a powerful therapeutic tool for optimising body performance and wellbeing.
Think of it as the more focused sibling to your regular deep tissue massage. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key benefits of sports massage:
Increased Flexibility
Whether it’s stretching to reach an overhead shelf or bending down to tie your shoes, flexibility is crucial in everyday life. Regular sports massages can ease tight muscles and improve range of motion, keeping you agile, healthy, and injury-free.
During a session, effleurage techniques (sliding circular strokes) relax the muscles, identify trigger points and tender areas, promotes circulation, and reduces inflammation and fluid buildup, making it easier for the muscles to stretch out and elongate. Petrissage — the kneading of muscle—is also used to break up muscular knots, relieve soreness, increase nutrient flow, and aid in delayed onset muscle soreness and recovery.
Inflammation reduction is another benefit of sports massage, boosting the immune system and aiding in the removal of metabolic waste products. This can also help reduce post-exercise muscle soreness, accelerating the body’s recovery process and enabling you to train harder and longer. In addition, the rhythmic pressure and strokes of sports massage stimulate the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain-relievers, reducing your need for prescription or over-the-counter pain medications.
Increased Circulation
Enhanced circulation is essential to delivering oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues, removing metabolic waste products and expediting the healing process. Through a combination of effleurage (stroking), friction and tapotement (striking), sports massage therapists stimulate blood flow to the targeted area, alleviating pain and stiffness while increasing suppleness and flexibility.
Flexibility is a key factor in athletic performance, reducing risk of injury by allowing muscles to move more freely. By incorporating stretching components into sessions, sports massage also encourages muscle fibers to relax and elongate, improving overall flexibility and agility.
For athletes constantly pushing themselves to the limit, regular massage can be a game changer by preventing the build-up of lactic acid and speeding up recovery time. Studies have shown that massage reduces post-activity soreness and improves sleep quality, which is vital for restoring muscle function and facilitating optimal performance.[3]
Increased Endurance
While the term'sports massage' may imply exclusivity for athletes, many of the techniques are effective for anyone looking to improve their performance and recovery. Sedentary office workers, for example, can benefit from a regular maintenance massage to address repetitive stress injuries and restore body balance.
Sports massage also helps prepare muscles for physical exertion by loosening them up, reducing the risk of injury and aiding in proper muscle movement patterns. This helps athletes achieve optimal results and build endurance over time.
And after strenuous activity, sports massage accelerates the recovery process by alleviating soreness and breaking down lactic acid build-up. This keeps athletes feeling fresh and allows them to get back to training more quickly.
Reduced Stress
Getting regular sports massages helps reduce the buildup of both physical and mental stress. When muscles are in pain, the body releases a stress hormone cost of sports massage for runners called cortisol which can cause an increase in muscle tightness and tension. Massage decreases the levels of cortisol and increases flexibility and range of motion thereby decreasing the overall stress on muscles and joints.
Enhanced Performance
Incorporating sports massage into your training regime can make the difference between good and exceptional performance. It warms up muscles prior to events and intensive training sessions, reduces the risk of injuries and boosts circulation. Post-training, it accelerates the recovery process by alleviating muscle soreness and breaking down lactic acid build-up. Regular sessions can also help to optimize muscle function, increase range of motion and improve physical conditioning. This is particularly important for athletes competing in high-contact sports, where reducing the strain placed on the musculoskeletal system can reduce the risk of injury.