Sports Massage Therapy
Sports massage is manual manipulation of the muscles geared specifically toward helping people who have physically demanding lifestyles and/or hobbies. This kind of therapeutic massage considers the impact of certain activities on specific joints, muscle groups, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissue groups. The conscious focus of sports massage therapy maximizes the benefit of certain massage techniques and supports further physical exertion and activity. An initial assessment is used to create a specially informed massage therapy plan that will meet each individual athlete’s specific needs.
Benefits:
Many benefits from sports massage have been reported based on experience and observation. Some are beneficial to the mind (psychological) and some to the body (physiological).
Some of the reported benefits of sports massage include:
- Increased joint range of motion (ROM)
- Increased flexibility
- Increased sense of well-being
- Decreased muscle tension
- Decreased neurological excitability (nerves more relaxed)
- Decreased muscle spasms
- Better sleep
Purported benefits that are not supported by research include:
- Increased blood flow
- Increased elimination of exercise waste products (lactic acid)
- Decreased chance of injury
- Decreased recovery time between workouts