Written by Richard Clarke, Senior therapist
Today sportsmen and women push themselves to the extreme limits of their physical capabilities, placing massive amounts of strain on their bodies. It happens at a professional level as well as with the general public like you who train like athletes but work full time.
These strains and stresses result in muscular and connective tissue problems, of varying severity, which can be alleviated through massage. Receiving a massage prior to athletic activity will loosen your muscles. Massage used in combination with stretching can help ensure that your muscles will be warmed up and ready for intense activity. Post event massage can help to relieve your pain, prevent any stiffness and return your muscles to their normal state more rapidly.
Sports massage can be just as important in preventing injury as warming up and cooling down, and it is a lot more enjoyable.
There are many benefits of a sports massage programme, so have a read of these and see what you think:
- Reduced muscle tension and resulting pain
- Aiding recovery from training by reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
- Improved flexibility through stretching, breaking down scar tissue and promoting circulation of blood and lymph
- Improving posture
- Reducing anxiety
- Relaxation
- Promoting overall muscle balance
- Enabling you to recover more rapidly from injury
- Reducing the likelihood of further injury by increasing flexibility to tight muscles or tendons that might otherwise tend to tear or pull
- Helping you to avoid developing chronic problems
- Helping you to maintain a more consistent higher level of training and performance
- Effectively reducing adhesions and some degree of scar tissue formation in your soft tissues, allowing for restoration of your muscle integrity and full range of motion
- Providing an invaluable psychological boost
- Enhancing your awareness of your body, helping you to find the full range of expression and strength for each movement you make
So hopefully this article has proved helpful and opened your eyes a bit more to the many benefits of massage. It does help to relax you and make you feel good, but it is also vital in maintaining performance and will help you stick to your fitness goals, whilst reducing the chances of injury.
Deep tissue massage is a very effective form of therapy for old, tired and tight muscles. It is an art form, as anyone can just beat you up, but I have been working on soft tissue injuries for over 15 years and know exactly when to use deeper techniques and when not to, which is where the success lies.
Thanks for reading. If you need a massage, give me a call.
About the treatment
Deep tissue massage is a whole body treatment, 80 to 90 minutes from head to toe.
See the deep tissue massage treatment