Sports Massage

Written by: Trisha Cattral / MassageGirls Staff Writer
Added on: Thu Oct 08 2009

Sports massage is one of the earliest forms of physical therapy and still exists. Most athletes fill the need for being massaged and therapists focus on the individual demands and aims of the athlete.

Massage plays a very big role for any athlete who understands the anatomy and physiology of the body. It must be incorporated as part of ones training program. Any sports person who focuses to win and wants to develop his or her skills, strength, stamina and speed must be ready for a massage; this gives your body flexibility and shape.

Athletes or any sports person who do not involve themselves in body massage may face a problem of imbalance in soft tissues, this is as a result of overuse of body tissues. This gradually reduces the performance of ones body and can develop to serious conditions

However any sports person should not allow massage in case he or she has an open wound, muscle rupture, burns, tendon ruptures, infection of the skin and soft tissues, tumors, bleeding disorders, contusion, etc.

How does one benefit from sports massage? It gives one a flexible body and this prevents you from injuries, it restores mobility to injured muscles, your body will be in better condition, it also prolongs your spotting career and reduces back pain and you generally feel relaxed.

Sports Massage techniques vary but the three most common ones are Effleurage, Petrissage and Friction.

In effleurage there is a lot of stroking movements and done using palms pressing gently and slowly. It is carried out in a rhythmical and relax manner.

Petrissage is mostly used on deeper tissues to stretch muscle fibers and mobilize fluids.

Friction is used in more painful movements to brake down lesions and separate sensory pads.

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