About Massage Therapy

Massage is arguably the oldest known healing art, predating orthodox medicine and many other complementary therapies. Its main purpose is to alleviate stress and tension in the soft tissues in the body. Sports massage combines old knowledge with new scientific understanding providing a potential ingredient for improved sports performance.

Definition of Sports Massage:
Sports massage is a hands-on  treatment and the qualified sports massage therapist is trained to examine the condition of the muscles both pre and post event. The sports massage therapist can help improve the efficiency of an athlete's muscles and can advise on correcting muscle imbalances. Also the therapist can observe local tension and suggest exercise modifications which can prevent injury.

Pre & Post-Event Massage:
Pre Event massage is usually lighter and given a couple of days prior to an event. Deeper treatments can often require a longer recovery time. Post Event massage involves deeper techniques designed to relax the muscles, improve circulation and help normalise muscle tension. Long gaps between treatments are not recommended and equally too frequent treatments can be counterproductive.

Performer's Needs:
Different sports performers have different requirements. The speed and power athlete has mainly fast twitch muscle fibres which often need stronger and deeper techniques. The endurance runner has mainly slow twitch muscle fibres and is better suited to lighter techniques. Athletes in multi-sprint type sports need a mixture. Friction techniques are used for warming and improving circulation and muscle pliability. Deep friction is useful for breaking down scar tissue and adhesions to restore normal range of movement and muscle tension. Pumping helps circulation and lymphatic drainage and stretching techniques improve range of movement.

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