Sports Massage Therapy

Sports Massage Therapy

Sports massage is a set of specialised massage techniques for the treatment of muscle, tendon and ligament problems. Anyone, not just athletes, can benefit from sports massage if they have aches and pains caused by either overuse or incorrect use of muscles. The combination of remedial and deep tissue massage, muscle energy techniques and neuromuscular techniques during the treatment, combined with advice on remedial exercises will be used to personalise a rehabilitation programme to meet the specific needs of the patient.

Sports massage can be used at any time. The purpose of the massage is to identify and treat the source of a problem, not only the accompanying pain.

There are a number of key areas that sports and remedial massage can benefit:

The physical benefits

Regular monitoring of the condition of muscles and other soft tissues can help prevent injury. Sports massage helps to break down fibrous tissue, scar tissue and adhesions in overworked tissue that cause stiffness and pain during training and recovery, not to mention inflexible tissues that are prone to injury. The restoration helps the elasticity of the muscles, ligaments and tendons around the joints, therefore improving joint mobility and returning you to a normal range of movement more quicker.

The physiological benefits

During sports, massage body fluid such as blood and lymph is actively pumped through the vessels. Facilitation promoted in the circulation encourages the supply of nutrients needed for recovery and building of new muscle tissue whilst removing toxins produced during times of intense training, competition or postural fatigue from long periods of sitting.

At times of increased stress (physical and mental), the immune system is suppressed reducing your ability to fight common illnesses and thereby decreasing your overall health. Again, the improved circulation can help cell regeneration; hormone release and lymphatic system response and so aid the immune response.

The psychological benefits

Sports massage can help to reduce anxiety, stress and tension helping to support overall wellbeing.

Mechanoreceptors that sense touch, pressure, tissue length and warmth are stimulated causing a reflex relaxation. Sport massage has also been shown to release hormones responsible for relaxation and euphoria. These benefits are by no means extensive but do highlight the significance of sports and remedial massage for a number of factors common in everyone. By decreasing the chance of reoccurring niggles and chronic problems and providing the flow of fresh blood enriched in oxygen and nutrients, and removing harmful metabolic waste, in addition to helping mental state sports and remedial massage can increase the quality of life.