You don’t need to be an elite sports enthusiast to reap the rewards from a sports massage. Find out more about how everyone can benefit from this deep healing therapy.
What is a sports massage?
All massage involves movement and pressure. A sports massage uses a different, more substantial level of pressure together with stretching, compression, friction and trigger point therapy. As a result, your therapist can reach more muscle and connective tissue layers, allowing a deeper level of relief and recovery.
The primary purpose of a sports massage is to help alleviate the stress and tension that builds up in the body’s soft tissues during physical activity. Overuse and overexertion can lead to minor injuries and lesions. Deep massage breaks down these lesions, offering relief and aiding recovery.
Because a sports massage treats a specific issue, it uses a targeted approach to focus on particular areas of your body that need attention.
Not just for athletes and injuries
While a sports massage will work wonders on your sore legs after running a race or help heal your injured shoulder after lifting weights, you don’t have to be an elite athlete to benefit from a sports massage. Leading an active lifestyle, your desk-bound job, or daily commute can all result in regular aches and pains. These stresses on the body can produce similar characteristics to sports injuries.
What’s the difference between a sports massage and a deep tissue massage?
Some people like a deep massage, but they don’t have a particular injury or issue to address. This is when a deep tissue massage might be what you need instead. Rather than focusing on a specific area, a deep tissue massage is more like an MOT for your whole body.
Prevention is better than a cure
Just as you don’t need to be an athlete, you also don’t have to be injured to need a sports massage.
If you lead an active life, regular treatments help you to stay active and pain-free. And if your job involves repetitive movements or lots of sitting, a programme of regular sports massage can iron out future problems.
One of the best reasons to get a sports massage is to prevent an injury that will take much longer to heal. Keeping your muscles in good working order will help avoid those little niggles from turning into injuries in the first place, which can interfere with your training and everyday life.
What are the benefits of a sports massage?
Sports massage has a wide range of both physical and psychological benefits, which include:
· Increased joint range of motion
· Increased flexibility
· Increased sense of wellbeing
· Decreased muscles tension
· Decreased muscles spasms
· Better sleep
· Decreased chance of injury
· Decreased recover time between workouts
· Relaxation
· Relief from pain
Conclusion
You don’t need to be a sports enthusiast to benefit from a sports massage. If you want to be active or pain-free to do what you want without your body holding you back, it can be a powerful tool in your health and wellbeing plan.
And my parting piece of advice. Don’t wait until you are injured. Prevention is always better than a cure.
Find out more about how sports massage can work in conjunction with other treatment therapies