0800 033 7800
Sports massage is a manual massage technique used to treat the body's muscles and soft tissues.
Sports massage can be used to relieve muscular tension, mobilise soft tissues, treat muscular damage, break down adhesions and reduce pain. Sports massage can also help along training programmes and before and after exercise. Sports massage helps to maximize performance, improve recovery and prevent injuries from occurring. Sports massage is not just for a sports person. Anyone can benefit from a sports massage. Massage therapists at Manchester Physio can use sports massage as an effective treatment for a range of conditions.
What is Sports Massage?
Sports massage is a manual technique applied to the body's soft tissues. Sports massage is a deep and intense massage treatment. Sports massage uses various techniques involving stretching, toning, friction and compression. Sports massage is invigorating and is used effectively to treat muscular damage, overuse injuries, muscle tension and reduce the risk of injury. Sports massage can be used for maintenance massage, pre and post exercise events and for injury rehabilitation. Soft tissue techniques of a sports massage are effective in the management of both acute and chronic injuries. Sports massage can speed up the body's healing process and reduce discomfort and pain from injury.
What is a sports massage used for?
Sports massage can be used in a range of circumstances. Sports massage is used to:
- Relieve muscular tension
- Mobilise soft tissue
- Treat muscular damage
- Break down adhesions
- Reduce pain
Sports massage can be used to mobilise muscles and soft tissues. Restricted soft tissue movement reduces flexibility and produces pain. Soft tissues in the body should be relaxed and wavy in configuration allowing movement without restriction or pain. When tissues or muscle fibers are damaged they can become tense and restrict movement. Sports massage uses specific techniques to stretch and loosen muscles fibers to allow more movement and decrease pain.
Sports massage is an effective treatment to treat muscular damage. Sports massage can treat cramps, muscle injuries and over stretched tissue fibres. Sports massage helps speed up the healing process and reduces discomfort. To treat muscular damage massage therapists at Manchester Physio use a number of effective techniques to speed up the recovery process such as, hot and cold treatments, lymphatic drainage massage, and trigger pointing.
Sports massage can be used to break down adhesions. Adhesions are fibrous bands of scar tissue that form between internal organs and tissues. Post injury adhesions are formed part of the body's healing process to repair damaged tissues. Adhesions can become rigid and cause stiffness and pain. Sports massage can be used to treat muscular injuries and break down adhesions that are formed from muscle damage. Sports massage uses a range of techniques to break down adhesions and allow the muscle fibres to be realigned to their normal form.
Massage is an effective and beneficial technique used to reduce and manage pain. The effect of massage interferes with the body's pain signal pathways, releases endorphins and provides deep relaxation. Massage increases the blood flow to joints and muscles, increasing temperature. The increase of temperature allows the muscles to relax and pain to be decreased.
Above: Sports Massage focused on gastrocnemius and soleus musclesWhen is sports massage used?
Sports massage is an effective treatment used:
- Pre Event
- Post Event
- As part of a training programme
- Post Workout
- To sooth tight muscles
- To delayed the onset of muscle soreness
- Post injury
- For chronic pain
A sports massage is an effective treatment used after exercise. Post event massage aims to help reduce tension build up and muscle spasms. Various sports massage techniques enhance the body's self-healing process preventing injury and delayed muscle onset soreness enabling people to return back to training.
Sports massage can be used during a training programme. Massage can assist people participating in regular exercise by speeding up recovery, reducing muscle soreness and facilitate injury prevention and healing. All massage techniques used as part of a training programme contribute to the quickening of the body's recovery process for people to continue training without risk of injury.
Sports massage helps prevent and treat delayed onset muscle soreness. Delayed muscle onset soreness is the result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibres from over stretching. Delayed muscle onset soreness creates pain and stiffness in the muscles hours to days after intense or strenuous exercise. Massage is used to treat and prevent delayed onset muscle soreness to enhance and speed up the recovery process.
Sports massage is an effective treatment used post injury. Sports massage helps the body recover from stress and tension built up around an area of injury. Physiologically, sports massage helps improve the blood and lymph flow circulation leading to the removal of waste products and a faster healing of injuries. Massage also helps to break down adhesions and scar tissue formed from injury. Massage breaks down hard fibrous tissue and restores muscle elasticity and movement.
Massage helps to reduce chronic pain by interrupting the pain cycle. When pain occurs in a certain area of the body, muscles tighten to protect it. Circulation in the area is reduced and mobility becomes limited. Massage restores mobility by loosening tight muscles and elongating them. Massage also increases the blood circulation around the area, promoting relaxation and relieves emotional stress and anxiety that can be linked to chronic pain.
What are the benefits of sports massage?
Sports massage has many benefits. The benefits of sports massage include:
- Reduced delayed muscle onset soreness
- Decrease pain
- Increase range of movement
- Increase muscle flexibility
- Improved recovery
- Maximise performance
- Reduce the chance of injury
Sports massage is an effective treatment to decrease pain. Pain can occur for a variety of reasons. Massage is able to increase the blood flow to an area of pain, increasing temperature and promoting relaxation. Massage interrupts the pain cycle pathways from the brain, decreasing the feeling of pain. Massage also works by desensitising an area of pain allowing normal sensation to be restored.
Sports massage can help improve range of movement. Sports massage helps increase range of movement by increasing temperature of soft tissues, increasing tissue elasticity and breaking down adhesions. Massage helps to reduce tightness and restore range of movement.
Sports massage is used to enhance flexibility in the body's soft tissues. Flexibility around a joint and in muscles is important to prevent injuries from occurring. Sports massage works by stretching and loosening muscle fibres so the muscle tissue increases in elasticity. Reduction in flexibility can occur due to injury, intense exercise and tight muscles. Massage increases blood flow through tight muscles allowing them to relax. Improved flexibility can enhance performance and muscular condition.
Sports massage can be used to improve recovery. Sports massage can be an essential part of the recovery process. Massage helps the body recover from strenuous exercise and facilitates the rehabilitation phase. The effect of massage leads to the removal of waste products, relief of soreness and reduces stiffness.
Sports massage is an effective treatment in order to maximise performance. Massage works to maintain healthy muscles throughout an exercise programme and help athletes to achieve optimal performance. Massage aims to relax stressed muscles and stimulate blood flow.
Sports massage is beneficial in the prevention of injuries as well as treating injuries. Sports massage can be used on a regular basis for prevention of injuries and the maintenance of healthy muscles. Sports massage helps to maintain the muscles elasticity, reduces tension and stiffness.
Above: Sports massage focused on latissimus dorsi muscle using percussion techniqueHow does sports massage help?
Sports massage helps in many ways. Sports massage helps by:
- Increasing blood circulation
- Decreasing tension
- Decreasing pain
- Breaking down adhesions and scar tissue
- Increasing tissue elasticity
Sports massage is used to help relieve muscle tension. Muscle tension can cause stiffness, pain and fatigue. Massage is able to help relieve symptoms of muscle tension and improve recovery. Massage uses a wide range of techniques to treat areas of tension. Massage increases blood, oxygen and nutrients to the muscles to relieve tension and increase healing. Massage also works to stretch and loosen muscles fibers allowing more movement and increasing flexibility.
Sports massage can help reduce and manage pain. Pain can occur for a variety of reasons. Massage helps to relieve and reduce pain by interfering with the body's pain signal pathways, releasing endorphins and providing deep relaxation. Massage therapists at Manchester Physio used a wide range of sports massage techniques to decrease pain.
Sports massage is an effective treatment to break down adhesions and scar. Adhesions and scar tissue are fibrous tissues which are formed in between soft tissues and organs. Adhesions and scar tissue are formed by repairing damaged tissues due to injury or surgery. Adhesions and scar tissue can commonly cause stiffness and pain. Sports massage breaks down adhesions and scar tissue, relieving tightness. Massage stretches and loosens muscle fibres reducing the pain and improving proper recovery of tissues.
Sports massage helps to increase tissue elasticity. Tissue elascticity is important to allow tissues to be stretched and regain original shape and size. Once temperature is increased in the soft tissues, muscles relax. Massage can stretch out and loosen relaxed muscles so elasticity is increase. Increase tissue elasticity in the muscle allows an increase of range of movement.
Summary
Sports massage is a more intense massage treatment aimed at underlying muscles and fascia tissues. Sports massage has a range of techniques to treat muscular injuries, maintain healthy muscles and aid preparation and recovery from exercise. Sports massage is an effective and beneficial treatment to relieve muscle tension, break down adhesions, reduce pain and restore range of movement. Massage therapists at Manchester Physio can use sports massage as an effective treatment for a range of conditions.
How can I arrange an appointment for sports massage?
To arrange a sports massage at Manchester Physio, email us at office@manchesterphysio.co.uk or call 0161 883 0077.
Why not book a massage appointment online and save £10! - Was £35, now only £25! Offer exclusive to new patients only.
f
