Sports Massage

I enjoy doing bodyworks and to me, its an art. I am certified in:

1. Sports Massage
2. Diploma in Holistic Massage.
3. Diploma in Sports Massage.

Brief idea on what is Sports Massage :)


Sports massage was originally developed to help athletes prepare their bodies for optimal performance, recover after a big event, or function well during training. Sports massage emphasizes prevention and healing of injuries to the muscles and tendons.
But you don't have to be in the Olympics to benefit from sports massage. Sports massage is also good for people with injuries, chronic pain or restricted range of motion. The massage therapist generally concentrates on a specific problem area. (Sore neck and shoulders, anyone?)

What Happens During Sports Massage?
Sports massage is a type of Swedish massage that stimulates circulation of blood and lymph fluids. Some sports massage movements use trigger point therapy to break down adhesions (knots in the muscles) and increase range of motion.
There are four types of sports massages:
* pre-event sports massage -- a short, stimulating massage 15 - 45 minutes before the event. It is directed toward the parts of the body that will be involved in the exertion.
* post-event sports massage -- given within an hour or two of the event, to normalize the body's tissues.
* restorative sports massage -- given during training to allow the athelete to train harder and with less injury.
* rehabilitative sports massage -- aimed at alleviating pain due to injury and returning the body to health.

When Should I Get A Sports Massage?
A sports massage is a good choice if you have a specific problem -- a tender knee from running, for instance. It is also be a good idea to see a movement therapist, who can help you identify and correct the movement pattern that might be causing your injury in the first place.
The therapist generally focuses in on the problem area -- a frozen shoulder or pulled hamstring, for instance -- rather than giving you a full body massage.
Sometimes men who are new to the spa are more comfortable getting a sports massage because it sounds more masculine. That's fine, even if they don't have an injury.
No matter what type of massage you choose, the therapist should check in with you about what your needs and expectations are for the massage.

Contraindications for Sports Massage

There are times when sports massage could be detrimental rather than beneficial to you. The contra indications to massage are:

• A body temperature over 100°F, or feeling unwell
• Acute Traumas - Open wounds, recent bruising, muscle tears, sprained ligaments, contusions, chilblains, burns
• Tumours - Where there is swelling, which is inconsistent with recent bruising
• Diseased blood vessels - Varicose veins, phlebitis, thrombosis
• Cancer
• Melanoma
• Haemophilia
• Infectious skin disease - Bacterial infection, Lymphangitis, Fungal infection, Viral infections, Herpes
• Where you react adversely to massage treatment
• Where your symptoms appear to make advice from a doctor advisable
• Diabetes - not strictly a contraindication but massage has the same effect as exercise on your blood sugar levels so you need to have appropriate medication available.

Benefits of Sports Massage

Massage, applied skillfully, is the most effective therapy for releasing muscle tension and restoring balance to the musculo-skeletal system. Received regularly this may help athletes prevent injuries, which might otherwise be caused by overuse. A constant build up of tension in the muscles from regular activity may lead to stresses on joints, ligaments, tendons, as well as the muscles themselves.

These muscle imbalance may develop and often go undiagnosed until they are serious enough to cause the athlete discomfort or impede performance. The skilled massage therapist will be able to detect variations in the soft tissues and by using the correct techniques, help the sports person maintain a much healthier physical state.

It may therefore be reasonably claimed that one of the greatest benefits of sports massage is in helping injury prevention.

Massage Techniques

The three main categories of massage that are predominantly used in sport are effleurage, petrissage and frictions. Almost all massage techniques are carried out with the main pressure being directed towards the heart. This helps increase venous and lymphatic flow and ensures that no pressure of blood is being pushed against closed valves causes any damage to blood vessels. The only exception to this is where short strokes are aimed at stretching muscle fibres. Because the strokes are limited, there is no risk of pressure being built up.

Effleurage

Effleurage consists of a variety of stroking movements, usually carried out with the whole palm of the hand and fingers, which may be used with varying pressure according to the purpose and stage reached during the massage. Effleurage is always used at the start of massage.

The basic movements comprise stroking with firm pressure using a wide surface area of the palm of the hand and fingers. On the return, the therapists' hands maintain, light contact and avoid the path taken on the upward stroke. As with all massage, the hands must be relaxed and moulded round the natural contours of the recipient's body. Effleurage is always used to commence any massage session and it has a wide range of purposes that you need to focus on:

• Introducing touch to the client
• Putting the client at ease
• Warming the tissues
• Increasing blood flow
• Stimulating peripheral nerves
• Muscle relaxation
• Palpating tissues

Effleurage should be carried out in a rhythmical and relaxed manner starting with light touch at the start of a session and building up to deeper pressure for increased circulation and stretching of tissues later in the massage. It should not be rushed as it is during this phase you need to begin to focus on any abnormalities in the tissues that may require further attention later in the massage. If the movements are performed too quickly, this will not help the client relax and if a "tender" area is missed, it will almost certainly be more painful when discovered using deeper techniques later! Effleurage is also used to complete the massage finishing with light stroking to relax the patient, particularly if movements that are more painful have been used beforehand.

Petrissage

Petrissage or kneading is used on deeper tissues for mobilising fluids, stretching muscle fibres, and inducing relaxation. Some of these techniques are specifically aimed at only deeper tissue and are therefore both ineffective and difficult to perform on narrow parts of the limbs. You must therefore pay particular attention, as with all massage techniques, as to what your purpose is when kneading petrissage is a powerful technique that is particularly effective in mobilising fluids in very deep muscles and applying a good stretch to the fibres involved.

Frictions

Frictions may be used for exploratory purposes, or for deeper and sometimes more painful movements aimed at breaking down lesions, separating muscle fibres, and even breaking down recent scar tissue. When performing frictions for exploratory purposes we tend to use the sensory pad of the thumb to "grasp" the skin and to move this over the underlying surface to feel for any abnormalities (trigger points) to the tissue concerned. This allows us to palpate, particularly around joints and feel for smaller abnormalities in the tissues. When performing frictions for the purpose of separating muscle fibres, breaking down lesions and scar tissues, firstly the client must be warned that these procedures may indeed be painful or at the very least uncomfortable. They only need to be carried out for a very short while. Using vigorous frictions for any longer than this may have a particularly detrimental effect by irritating and even causing inflammation.

 

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2000) Sports Massage [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/massage.htm [Accessed 10/5/2012]

Anitra Brown, About.com Guide