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Sport Massage Therapy
What is sports massage therapy?
Sports massage therapy is a specific type of massage that treats and prevents different sports injuries. It encompasses different forms of massage and muscle manipulation to help treat sports injuries and muscle strains. It works by stretching and stimulating tight muscles, and improving the condition of soft tissue. This helps to reduce stress and tension that can build up in the body from exercise or strenuous activities. Sports massage can also help to correct soft tissue muscle imbalances caused by repetitive motions (commonly seen in tennis players or golfers), as well as aid recovery and prevent injury.
An injury or condition that reduces an athlete’s performance can have dire consequences on their careers and general performance on and off the sporting field. AFL players are one group of athletes who benefit greatly from sports massage, particularly in the form of deep tissue massage which targets the deeper tissue layers in the body. Regular massages before and after games help to warm up and loosen muscles, assisting in faster recovery and better conditioning.
Types of sports massage therapy?
The type of sports massage therapy used will depend on the injury or needs of the individual. Sports massage borrows a lot of techniques from fields such as physiotherapy. The different types of sports massage include:
- Maintenance Massage. An effective maintenance program is based on the massage therapist’s understanding of which muscles are used in a given sport and which are likely candidates for trouble. By zeroing in on particular muscle groups and working specific tissues, the therapist can help the athlete maintain or improve range of motion and muscle flexibility. The overall objective of a maintenance program is to help the athlete reach optimal performance through injury-free training.
- Event Massage.
- Pre-event – A short (10-15 minute) massage given within 4 hours before an event to improve performance and help decrease injuries. It is used in conjunction with the athlete’s warm-up to enhance circulation in the major muscles used the most. It is also used to reduce excess muscle tension to ready the athlete for top performance during an event.
- Inter/Intra-event – Massage given between events or in time-outs to help athletes recover from the preceding activity and prepare for the activity coming up. It is also short, and focuses on the major muscles stressed in the activity.
- Post-event/Recovery – Given after a competition and is mainly concerned with recovery. It is geared toward reducing muscle spasms and the build-up of toxins that occurs with vigorous exercise. Recovery massage is generally relaxing and mentally calming. A recovery session can be anywhere from 15 minutes to a full 90 min massage, and the focus is relief from soreness and stiffness, better flexibility, and less potential for future injury
- Rehabilitation Massage. No matter how many preventative measures are taken, injuries can still occur. Muscles will cramp, tear, bruise, and ache. Recovery focused sports massage can speed healing and reduce discomfort during the rehabilitation process.
The Benefits of sports Massage
Sports massage therapists use a range of different techniques to promote flexibility, improve endurance, help prevent injuries, increases blood flow, enhance lymphatic drainage, and allow for quicker recovery.
Regular sports massage can:
- Reduce the chance of injury through proper stretching deep tissue massage
- Improve range of motion and flexibility
- Shorten recovery time between workouts
- Maximize the supply of nutrients and oxygen by increasing blood flow
- Enhance elimination of toxins that build up from exercise through lymphatic drainage
Techniques Used in Sports Massage
There are a number of different techniques used during a sports massage: effleurage; friction; petrissage; vibration; shaking; compression; broadening strokes; direct pressure; cross-fiber friction; range of motion; and stretching.
Knowing which technique to use depends on which type of sports massage it is: pre-event or post-event, during recovery, during a maintenance period, or when an athlete suffers an injury that requires rehabilitation.
Sports massage frequently includes the use of one or more of the following techniques:
- Deep Swedish Massage – Muscle-specific applications of the standard effleurage, petrissage, vibration, and tapotement techniques. Used in pre-event warm ups as well as post-event recovery massage to stimulate circulation of blood and lymph fluids.
- Compression Massage – Used as a warm-up for deeper, more specific massage work in both pre and post event massage.
- Cross-Fiber Massage – Friction techniques applied in a general manner to create a stretching and broadening effect in large muscle groups; or on site-specific muscle and connective tissue, deep transverse friction applied to reduce adhesions and to help create strong, flexible repair during the healing process.
- Trigger Point Massage – Specific finger, thumb, or elbow pressure into trigger points in muscle and connective tissue, to reduce the hypersensitivity, muscle spasms, and to break down adhesions.
- Stretching – Used to increase range of motion in areas of the body where there is restricted movement.
- Lymphatic Massage – Stimulation of specialised lymphatic-drainage pathways, which improves the body’s removal of waste and toxins.
Who should Get a Sports Massage?
A sports massage is a good choice if you have a specific problem—a tender knee from running, a frozen shoulder or pulled hamstring, for instance. The therapist generally focuses in on the problem area rather than giving you a full-body massage.
Anyone who routinely stretches their physical limits through movement such as running, cycling, hiking, swimming, dancing, tennis and other racquet sports, strength training and aerobics can benefit from a massage. Some people do strenuous activities in their daily routine that is not normally classified as exercise. Examples are mothers with small children, gardeners, construction workers, and others who use their bodies strenuously in their work.
Heavily exercised muscles may lose the ability to relax, causing chronically tight muscles, and loss of flexibility. Lack of flexibility is often linked to muscle soreness and increases your risk of injury, especially muscle pulls and tears.