Added: 09/26/2005 |
What is sports massage therapy?Sports massage is a special form of massage developed to help athletes reach and maintain peak performance and to assist in recovery afterwards facilitating the healing processes as well as helping prevent future injures. Although the notion 'sports massage therapy' suggests that it is only suitable for athletes and dancers, a great number of qualified sports massage therapists dispel this myth and prove that it is also a therapy for 'ordinary' people, who are not making a sports career.
Sports massage therapy is not only a post-trauma treatment, it can be used preventatively to keep the soft tissue in a healthy state and eliminate any micro-traumas before they become more serious. It is also able to get rid of post-operative scar tissue and release incorrect postural holding patterns due to increased muscle tension. Thus sports massage therapy covers three main categories: event (pre and post), maintenance, and rehabilitation.
Pre-event sports massage therapy warms up the muscles - getting the blood circulatie faster and allowing longer workout with reduced risk of injury, increased flexibility and greater range of motion. Pre-event massage therapy can also help avoid muscle and tendon injuries and enhance the performance results.
To quicken the removal of fatigue toxins, relieve muscle spasms, prevent soreness and to jumpstart the process of removing lactic acid build up in muscles occurs is the prerogative of post-event sports massage therapy used to assist athletes in recovery and in regaining their pre-event condition.
Maintenance or rehabilitation sports massage therapy increases flexibility and range of motion, reducing muscle scar tissue formation, muscle soreness, stiffness, cramps and pain. Maintenance sports massage recharges and revitalizes the body and reduces the risk of injury.
It is proved that sports massage therapy relieves the pain of muscular strain and injury; reduces fatigue, stress and tension; improves circulation and eases stress; helps make for a sound sleep; enhances sports performance and recovery; increases health and well-being; rehabilitates muscular injury; reduces chronic pain; calms the nervous system; strengthens the immune system and so on and so forth. The list of sports massage therapy benefits is endless.
These benefits are not only for athletes, but for anyone who at least occasionally does some sports. Carried out by professionals sports massage therapy is a unique way of preserving good health.
The therapists are intensively trained and usually are very flexible in their approach to treatment, recognizing the best technique to apply in each particular case. They have a great many of techniques at their disposal, such as effleurage, friction, petrissage, cam and spindle, rocking and shaking, muscle squeezing, and percussion. And more specialized sports massage therapy methods, such as NMT - neuromuscular technique (similar to acupressure), MET - muscle energy technique, SCS - strain counterstrain and STR - soft tissue release, which has developed partly from Thai traditional massage.
Massage therapists can practice in an almost limitless variety of settings. As well as conventional locations such as health clubs, gyms and beauty salons, massage therapists operate wherever people can benefit from a relaxing and restorative respite from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Department stores, airport terminals and offices - even planes, cruise ships, busy offices and factories - are all places where massage therapists successfully practice their gentle and relaxing art.
With the tendency of keeping fit being so popular these days, the number of people participating in sports or attending sports clubs is continuously increasing. Not knowing howintensive the exercises should be, incorrect physical activity and absence of an instructor often result in an upsurge of sports injuries. In this case sports massage is a highly effective treatment for many complaints and is excellent for recuperation. Professional sports massage therapists are always ready to give their helping hand to the increasing number of people seeking the therapy, which should be seen as an aid for preventing injuries and is highly recommended to be used on a regular basis by anyone who is just a sport amateur.
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