“Relieving muscular tension to decrease pain, enhance mobility and increase quality of life”
Sports massage can be essential for both athletes struggling after a long training session, or anyone with aches or pains after a long week at work! Whether its for general body maintenance or you have a current sporting injury a sports massage could be beneficial to you.
Sports massage uses some similar techniques to your stereotypical massage such as superficial effleurage and petrissage techniques, but also includes advanced techniques such as myofascial release, soft tissue release and muscle energy techniques. This makes the massage feel more intense and focused on certain areas, but allows for the treatment of muscles, ligaments, tendons and fascia which will relieve tension and any tightness in the body.
Benefits of Sports Massage:
Decreased Risk of Injury- By decreasing tension and keeping muscles mobile, this can have an impact in reducing injuries as tight, tense muscles are more prone to overuse injuries. Furthermore, sports massage can reduce joint inflammation after acute injuries which can lead to joint strains and sprains.
Increased Mobility- By working specifically on tense muscles around the joint and stretching muscle fibres, joint range of motion can be improved through regular sports massage. By increasing movement, this can help correct any potential muscular or postural imbalances throughout the body.
Decrease Muscle Soreness- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness also referred to as ‘DOMS’, is the discomfort experienced in muscles a day or two after you have a hard training session. Massage strokes that encourage lymphatic drainage will increase blood and lymph flow throughout the body, helping to prevent muscle fatigue and encourage better oxygenation. Sports massage improves tissue permeability allowing nutrients and oxygen to reach the cells quickly. Waste products such as lactic acid can be efficiently removed and prevent muscle soreness.
Stress Relief- Common areas of stress in the body for sedentary workers are often the upper body and shoulders, which can then lead to tension headaches. As well as physically relieving the tightness of the muscles, endorphins are released during sports massage. These help to decrease anxiety, provide pain relief, improve mood and enhance well-being.
