Sports Massages - How Much Pain and Gain?

Sports Massages - How Much Pain and Gain?

There's no point in trying to sidestep the major question about sports massages - yes, they can be very uncomfortable!At first, your therapist will gently knead the muscles all over your relaxed body, belying the discomfort that is about to ensue.The truth is that they're just looking for the troublesome points which will most benefit from their attentions! Yup, the rolling of the flesh beneath your skin gets more focused and you begin to become aware that there is something tense lurking under the surface. Suddenly the insistent rubbing increases in intensity as they isolate an area that is in need of correction.There is a moment of stillness - like the calm before the storm and then something hard and sharp - I believe it is the therapist's elbow - is applied to the recalcitrant muscle.And that's when all the nerve centres in your brain explode in unison. My own postural problems mean that I receive regular sports massage treatments to those muscles which join the shoulders to the base of my neck. The best way to describe the sensation is that my eyeballs are trying to pop out of their sockets. There is the most amazing pressure behind the back of my eye corresponding to whichever side of my neck is being treated.It feels as if a white hot brand is being forced into my body and I am forced to call upon all the breathing exercises I used to prepare for childbirth to try to exhale my way through the pain.I am informed by my therapist that this is trigger point therapy, where they are trying to trick the brain into releasing the tension it is holding within the muscle.These trigger points form in muscles as a contraction in a small number of muscle fibres in a larger muscle or muscle bundle which pull on the tendons and ligaments associated with the muscle, causing joint pain.The biochemical energy used by the contraction of muscle fibres turn into lactic acid and other fatigue toxins, which cannot be carried away to be recycled in the liver and kidneys because the tightness of the muscle constricts the capillaries. This means that the toxin levels increase causing the bundle of muscle to become tense.Once the trigger points have been identified, they need to be resolved and then the muscles need to be stretched out using combinations of passive and active techniques. The surrounding muscles should also be released or else the muscles will return to their original positions causing the trigger points to redevelop.It is vital to have a skilled therapist as, if pressed for too short a time, trigger points can remain active but if there is too much pressure or the duration is overlong, irritation or bruising can occur.My own shoulder problems were the result of my body's reaction to stress and had got so bad that I was prevented from moving my head to look over either shoulder.My therapist was able to give me back a full range of movement after a few weeks of regular treatments.Now that I am familiar with the effects of this treatment, I will often request some elbow treatment when I can feel the tension in my shoulders after spending too long hunched over my computer.And then there is the pleasurable bit as they massage the muscles back to relaxation and you get off the couch feeling as if you are an inch taller and walking on air.So, there it is - sports massages, the pain and the pleasure.

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