By Ashleigh Watson – Sports Massage Therapist
What is a sports massage?
Sports massage is a technique involving the manipulation of soft tissues to alleviate pain, help to prepare muscles and improve healing from physical activity. Sports massage is a method to assist in correcting imbalanced muscles that can be repetitive and strenuous when doing physical activity.
Many athletes that are training for an event or competition incorporate a sports massage to help with their recovery to limit any musculoskeletal injury and to repair their muscles.
Pre – event massage
Pre-event massage is all about preparing the clients body and mind for there upcoming event.
The benefits of Pre – event massage is done before a sports event or training to help warm the muscles and to decrease any chance of injuries. The aim of a sports massage is to warm up the superficial tissues, reduce the risk of fatigue, increase blood circulation and oxygen delivery to muscles that will then Enhance performance and endurance.
Clinician will used range of techniques in a pre- event massage to prepare the athletes for their event:
- Using friction to create heat to warm up superficial tissues.
- Compression to increase blood circulation.
- Tapotement to stimulate muscles.
- Light stretching to prepare muscles for warm up.
Post- event massage
Sports massage is a great recovery tool to have after an event. Exercises can place stress on our muscles leading micro – tears causing a build-up of toxics in muscles. Post- event massage improves muscles recovery as it flushes out the lactic acid build up, decrease muscles soreness/ cramping, increase blood and lymphatic circulation to promote delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscles to repair. All these factors help to facilitates a faster return to training after an event.
Immediate post -event massage is to lightly flush out techniques to muscles to promote circulation and reduce any post- event soreness. 48–72-hour post- Event, it allows for a natural recovery period where the muscles can settle and then after this period a stronger massage can aid in addressing any lingering muscles tension, imbalance and soreness.
Having regular sports massage is beneficial by identify potential areas of tension or weakness within the musculoskeletal system. Addressing these early can assist in preventing a development of an injury and can improve muscles mechanics. Massage doesn’t only benefit physical, but it has psychological benefits. These massage techniques help to reduce stress, anxiety and promote a state of relaxation.
If you would like to book a massage then simply call us on 01454838366 or Click Here to make your booking.