Sports Massage

Many people presume that sports massage is solely for sports people – it is not! Sports massage is for anyone who desires a deep massage that really works the muscles. It is designed to prevent and relieve injuries and conditions associated with regular exercise. It is not meant to be relaxing and can become quite vigorous at times, but the aim is to relieve and reduce the tension that builds up in the body’s soft tissue while exercising. It can be carried out before, during, or after physical activity and uses techniques that are designed to increase endurance and performance, minimise the chances of injury and reduce recovery time.

Sports massage is of benefit to anyone that exercises, even if it is only mild exercise such as regular walking. It’s invaluable to athletes who need pre and post event work – either relaxing or invigorating the muscles in preparation for a competition, and then afterwards flushing them out – helping the sore muscles detoxify, realign and heal in preparation for the next bout of action. For those who don’t play sports but perhaps work in an office environment, sitting in the same position for long periods, or carrying out repetitive tasks, sports massage is ideal. It is extremely effective for loosening tight muscles and refreshing aching limbs. It increases flexibility and range of movement, resulting in a faster healing process.
The benefits of sports massage include:
• draining away fatigue
• relieving swelling
• reducing muscle tension
• promoting flexibility
• relieving pain
• preventing injuries
• improving heart rate and blood pressure
• increasing blood circulation and lymph flow
• healing shin splints, tennis elbows, sprains and strains, and corked thighs.

The timeframe in which you see results will depend on your circumstances. If you are seeing your therapist to relax your muscles before a competition then those results will occur immediately on most occasions. Following your treatments, you should feel greater flexibility and movement. However, if sports massage is to treat an injury then you may need a few treatments before you start to see a significant improvement, depending on the severity of your injury. Please talk to your therapist about other ways that can boost your recovery time further, such as stretching. You may feel a little sore for a day or two following your massage, but this is normal. This is a sign your body is working to heal the injury or problem area.