What is a sports massage?
Sports massage is often used within sporting environments for competing athletes as part of a warmup or to keep players warm during breaks in activity. ‘Event’ massage like this helps to get the blood flowing and the muscles primed for activity, so you can deliver your best performance. Post event, a great sports massage will help to flush out toxins, reduce swelling and ease tension reduce Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
Whatever your sport, finding the best sports massage therapist near you and getting a regular ‘maintenance’ sports massage will be a great addition to your training programme. This type of treatment will not only boost your recovery time between training sessions, it will also keep your muscles in great condition to help to prevent injuries.
If you do experience a sports injury though, ‘rehabilitative’ sports massage techniques can be applied to treat injuries affecting your muscles, tendons or ligaments. Early treatment can help reduce swelling, relieve pain and prevent scar tissue from sticking to the surrounding structures which can cause restricted movement.
What are the benefits of a sports massage?
It’s a great question. The techniques used during a sports massage vary depending on the circumstance – pre or post event, regular maintenance or for injury rehabilitation – however the main benefits are to improve blood flow, reduce stress and improve focus, reduce swelling, improve tissue flexibility and prime muscles for activity.
What conditions does sports massage help with?
It’s not just for Usain Bolt. Whether you are a seasoned pro or new to exercise and want to relieve sore muscles, anyone can benefit from sports massage. It’s ideal for muscular pain, joint inflammation, lower back pain, muscle tension, trigger points, repetitive strain, sciatica … the list goes on!
What to expect during a sports massage?
If it’s your first getting a sports massage at our clinic in Cambridge, then you can expect us to complete a quick health screen first to get an understanding of your medical history, why you would like treatment and which areas might need some extra attention. We might ask you to complete a few movements depending on the issue and then we’ll leave the room while you undress and lie down under a cover on one of our treatment beds.
Our sports massage therapists will use a mixture of techniques (effleurage, petrissage and deep tissue techniques), so sometimes it will feel quick and light and at other times the pressure will feel deeper. It should be a collaborative treatment between you and the therapist to make sure it is within your comfort levels and meets your goals and expectations.
Is it painful to get a sports massage?
Sports massage does sometimes have a reputation for being painful but – as with any massage – your therapist should adjust the pressure based on your comfort and feedback. There might not be as much of a focus on ‘relaxation’ as there is with a remedial massage and if you have sore spots then you might experience discomfort at times during a sports massage but you should not feel like you have to grit your teeth to get through it.
What is the difference between a sports massage and a deep tissue massage?
A traditional sports massage is generally quicker in the tempo of the massage stroke and therefore will not always feel as deep. Due to the different techniques used this can change throughout the treatment whereas deep tissue is consistently slow and deep.
Because this treatment is used to help with preparation or recovery it is more likely that this treatment would focus on one or a few areas rather than the whole body.