Osteopaths and Physiotherapists provide massage at the Hatfield practice
a professional athlete tears a muscle or has an injury, it makes the news. But anyone who plays a sport or is involved in hard physical effort can easily be injured. The most vulnerable are children and adolescents, middle-aged athletes and older women. Many Sports and fitness enthusiasts are including massage
as a part of their conditioning programmes. Deep Tissue Massage is not just for the professional athlete or the person who is training for the Olympics. It is for everyone and needs to be looked at as a real health benefit and not a luxury. People just like you and me are including deep tissue massage as part of
their regular healthy living programmes. Almost anyone can benefit from massage treatment, athlete or not.
Table of Contents
Sports massage will aid recovery
Whenever you exercise or exert yourself, small amounts of swelling occur in the muscle because of tiny tears. Therefore massage, after the event, will help reduce the swelling, loosen tired, stiff muscles, help maintain flexibility. Massage also promotes circulation and increases oxygen to the muscle, and helps to remove the waste products of exercise. Professional deep neuromuscular massage is also very popular. The firm deeper massage works through muscles and along nerve pathways, aiming to reduce neural tension and increase function. Sports massage will also aid recovery, treat injuries and will help speed up recovery time and alleviate any soreness.
Sports massage is an essential part of an athletes training programme
Below are descriptions of the more common forms of deep tissue massage. Athletes from most sporting backgrounds use deep tissue massage as its incredibly effective. Sports massage is an essential part of an athletes training programme. Used before and after a competition and tailored specifically for that person and their sport. In fact, a number of top athletes and footballers have attributed Sports Massage as a primary reason for their performances and longevity, Gary Lineker for example. For the athlete, massage can help improve performance, increase endurance, and help lower fatigue levels by reducing tension and metabolites such as lactic acid. Athletes can train better after the massage and tend to have longer and more effective workouts. Sports massage between your workouts enables a faster and less painful recovery time.
FULL BODY MASSAGE (SWEDISH)
Most people who have not had a sports massage before will start with this. It includes the full body and is a lighter form of neuromuscular deep tissue massage penetrating just the top layer of your muscles. It is probably the most common form of massage. Its main goal is to aid your relaxation and improve your circulation. The therapist applies oil to your skin and uses flowing strokes and kneading movements to relieve tension in your muscles. The treatment incorporates light and deep movements, allowing your mind and body to unwind through the release of tension from your muscles, also stimulating your body’s circulatory systems. Long-term benefits can include an overall feeling of well-being and increased confidence. It may also help to improve your muscle tone and the appearance of your skin.
CLINICAL AND REMEDIAL MASSAGE
These forms of massage refer to styles of treatment that employ a variety of Deep Tissue manipulation techniques to aid injury recovery. These styles get down into the muscles that are under the top layer of your skin. They tend to be deeper, slower, and more muscle specific. They are forms of massage that can help remedy specific acute and chronic conditions such as frozen shoulder, neck pain, migraine and sciatica. This type of massage is more vigorous and uses various movement strokes to loosen your muscles. It helps break patterns of tension, relieves chronic pain, including inflammation-related pain such as tendonitis, and improves range of motion.
SPORTS MASSAGE
Sports Massage therapy is a form of deep soft tissue manipulation that uses several specific techniques to treat physically active individuals, anyone involved in heavy-duty physical activities and sports performance who may be more vulnerable to injury because of the stresses placed on their body by exertion. Sports massage can relieve niggling aches and pains before they develop into more serious overuse injuries. It can also be great for post-event relaxation and recovery and
help to relieve stress, tension, and fatigue. Sports massage is generally used to provide rehabilitation from soft tissue injury, to maintain muscular conditioning and joint flexibility for competition, in order to maximise athletic potential.
Sports massage aids your recovery time
In addition, it eases the effects caused by severe exercise such as myofascial shortening i.e.restrictions in your body’s contractile (muscle) and non-contractile supportive (fascia) connective tissues. Therefore it can help keep your body
flexible, aid your performance, and assist you in rehabilitation from injuries. Sports massage can be used to help you prepare for the physical activity, assist in the prevention of injuries, and aid in your recovery from physical exertion after competition or training. Although, as its name implies, Sports massage is a form more geared towards the athlete, it is equally effective in dealing with the problems caused by heavy work and the stresses of everyday living.
BENEFITS OF DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE
Commonly known benefits include relaxation, improved circulation and relief of muscle tension. Fitness enthusiasts/athletes will find that these forms of deep tissue massage help to improve their flexibility; muscles tend not to be as sore and stiff; it helps in their recovery time and reduces the anxiety of athletic competition. Conditions, which in general respond well to deep tissue techniques are muscle pain and stiffness, strains, sprains, repetitive strain injuries, sore spots and muscle tension. It should be noted that even though these forms of massage will help certain injuries to heal you should also seek medical advice, as some injuries may need to be immobilised. Deep Tissue Massage is safe and effective, and if performed correctly should have few side effects.
Our ability to refer between our specialists at The Welwyn and Hatfield Practice has lifted us above the usual single therapy clinics. Our experience and patient-based care is unique. Our “triage” methods are often only available at ” last resort” NHS Pain Clinics and again where all conventional methods have failed. Call us on 01707 888229.