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Anyone who routinely
stretches their physical limits through movement can benefit
from a massage. This could mean sports people but also
gardeners, parents and many others who use their bodies
strenuously in their work. Incorporating massage into an
exercise program helps you recover faster from heavy
workouts, and relieves conditions which may cause injury.
Sports Massage
Techniques
Each strenuous movement uses muscle groups in a different
way. As a sports massage therapist I’m familiar with each
muscle, the muscle groups and how they are affected by the
specific movements and stresses of each sport or activity.
Traditional western (e.g. Swedish) massage is currently the
most common approach used for conditioning programs. It is
frequently supplemented by other massage therapy approaches
including the use of one or more of the following
techniques:
Deep Swedish Massage
Muscle-specific applications of the standard effleurage,
petrissage, vibration, and tapotement techniques.
Compression Massage
Rhythmic compression into muscles used to create a deep
hypremia and softening effect in the tissues. It is
generally used as a warm-up for deeper, more specific
massage work.
Cross-Fibre Massage
Friction techniques applied in a general manner to
create a stretching and broadening effect in large muscle
groups; or on site-specific muscle and connective tissue,
deep transverse friction applied to reduce adhesions and to
help create strong, flexible repair during the healing
process.
Trigger Point/Tender
Point Massage
Combined positioning and specific finger or thumb
pressure into trigger/tender points in muscle and connective
tissue, to reduce the hypersensitivity, muscle spasms and
referred pain patterns that characterise the point. Left
untreated, such trigger/tender points often lead to
restricted and painful movement of entire body regions.
Lymphatic Massage
Stimulation of specialised lymphatic-drainage pathways,
which improves the body's removal of edemas and effusion.
The Benefits of Sports Massage
Regular sports massage
can:
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Reduce the chance of
injury, through proper stretching and event preparation,
and through deep tissue massage
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Improve range of motion
and muscle flexibility, resulting in improved power and
performance
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Shorten recovery time
between workouts
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Maximise the supply of
nutrients and oxygen through increased blood flow
Rehabilitation Massage
Soft tissue techniques employed by myself are effective
in the management of both acute and chronic injuries.
Trigger point techniques reduce the spasms and pain that
occur both in injured muscles. Cross-fibre friction
techniques improve the formation of strong and flexible
repair tissue, which is vital in maintaining full pain-free
range of motion during rehabilitation. In all cases, such
massage techniques are employed in collaboration with other
appropriate medical care.
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