subject: Defeat Stress But Also Relieve Chronic Pain Using A Relaxing Sports Massage [print this page] Sports massage therapy - beneficial for everyone from weekend joggers to world-class professionals - is gaining popularity as an important component in the balanced training regimen of athletes everywhere. Participants in a variety of sports, everywhere in the world, are discovering that a specially-design sports massage will:
More flexibility and range of motion;
Enhanced endurance with reduced tiredness;
Less chance of injury due to loosening of the muscles;
Competing at their highest level possible;
Decreased time required to recover between exercise sessions;
More nutrients and oxygen in the body as a result of better blood circulation;
Reduction of unwanted toxins that the body produces from strenuous 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.
Before the event: A sports massage administered before a sporting event is slightly shorter than a normal session and is designed to warm up the major muscles that an athlete will be using. It's also known to improve the mental health and muscle tension needed for top performance.
Throughout the sporting event: For the ultimate training performance with lower risk, a sports massage administered during a competition will be altered to fortify an athlete for the particular sport in which they are participating.
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.
Over-training: This type of sports massage is used when the body is not allowed to recover adequately between instances of strenuous exercise. It helps avoid over-training via general relaxation and can by recognized by irritability, increased heart rate when resting, a change in appetite, and an increase in the number of injuries that occur.
Maintaining an athlete's body: Everyone knows the importance of maintenance and athletes have found that engaging in a regular program of sports massage therapy is an excellent tool. Incorporating sports massages into an athlete's normal regimen significantly decreases the possibility of serious injury at all stages of a competition.
Rehabilitate with sports massage therapy: Even with the proper maintenance, athletes can experience bruised, cramped and aching muscles ... all of which can be treated with sports massage therapy. Athletes who receive a sports massage after an injury report less discomfort and a faster healing cycle.
