subject: Increase Your Ability With A Sports Massage [print this page] Participants in practically every sport are proclaiming the healing effects and advantages of sports massage therapy for edging out their competition. This not includes professional athletes, but the weekend warriors as well. Below are some of the benefits they enjoy.
* Promote flexibility and improve range of motion;
* Remove fatigue and improve endurance;
* Reduce the chance of injury by loosening connective tissues and muscles;
* Prepare them to compete at their ultimate best;
* Shorten recovery time between workouts;
* Increase the supply of nutrients and oxygen via improved circulation;
* Enhance the elimination of toxins produced by exercise.
After any demanding workout routine, athletes can benefit from a sports massage therapy program designed especially for them. A discussion with a massage therapist will identify the areas that need to be addressed and ways to relax and rejuvenate them. A sports massage also prepares the body for any minor injury that may occur and combats the normal wear and tear that our bodies experience.
Our muscles tend to lose their capacity to relax after heavy exercise, resulting in tight muscles and a loss of flexibility, which can cause muscle tears and pulls. A regular routine of sports massage therapy has proven to be quite effective in combating these - and other - ailments of muscles that have been extended to their limit. But the goals of sports massage therapy are different at various stages of sports activity and competition as follows.
Prior to the event: Studies have shown that athletes who receive a sports massage prior to a sporting event improve their muscle tension and their equally-important mental health in a shorter amount of time. Pre-event sports massage therapy is designed to prepare the major muscles that the athlete will be using.
During a sporting event: The massage technique used during a sporting event is designed to insure the ultimate in performance with low-risk training. Just as each different sport uses different muscle groups in different ways, the sports massage technique will differ as well.
After a sporting event: After the competition has ended, the sports massage is designed to decrease metabolic build-up and spasms in the muscles that sometimes result from strenuous activity. A sports massage performed after a sporting event is designed to promote mental calming, overall relaxation and tissue repair.
A remedy for excessive training: If an athlete doesn't let his/her body refresh itself adequately between training routines, they can experience irritability, more potential for injury and sometimes a change in their eating habits; these are all signs that their body has been overburdened. The state of total relaxation that results from a sports massage has been found to relieve symptoms quite effectively.
Maintenance Massage: a regular sports massage program can help maintain and improve an athlete's muscle flexibility and range of motion and is essential to the prevention of the harmful effects of too much training. Sports massage maintenance therapy is designed to prevent acute injury during competition.
Sports massage therapy for rehabilitation: We all know that even with the proper care, an athlete's muscles can tear, bruise, cramp and ache. Sports massages reduce the discomfort an athlete experiences when rehabilitating from an injury and expedites the healing process.
