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The prime purpose of sports massage therapy is to help alleviate the stress and tension, which builds up in the body’s soft tissues during physical activity. Where minor injuries and lesions occur, due to overexertion and/or overuse, massage can break them down quickly and effectively. Above all, it can help prevent those niggling injuries that so often get in the way of performance and achievement, whether one is an athlete, ardent keep-fitter or a once a week jogger. This treatment is not just for the sports person: anyone can benefit from sports massage, including people in physically demanding jobs and those not quite so obvious: occupational, emotional and postural stress may produce many similar characteristics to sports injuries.
Sports massage tends to be deeper and more intense. It is based on the various elements of Swedish massage and often incorporates a combination of other techniques involving stretching, compression, friction, toning, and trigger point response techniques similar to Acupressure and Shiatsu. The skilled therapist brings together this blend of techniques, knowledge and advice during treatment, to work effectively with the client to bring about optimum performance and to provide injury-free training and minimise post event injuries.
There are three areas where sports massage is used to benefit athletes.
Deep Tissue Massage is a technique that focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue. It aims to release the chronic patterns of tension in the body through slow strokes and deep finger pressure on the contracted areas. Deep friction Massage is highly specific to the function of disrupting adhesions that have formed or may be forming.
This type of treatment is used for maintaining or restoring painless mobility of musculoskeletal structures. It is considered indispensable in the treatment of many forms of tendonitis.
Deep tissue massage usually focuses on areas that are more specific and may cause some soreness or pain during or right after the massage, but if it is done correctly the client should feel better than ever within a day or two. The technique is often used in combination with other massage procedures such as those used in Remedial and Sports Massage.
More pleasant than it sounds, Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) helps to rid the body of toxins and excess lymph by stimulating the body’s lymphatic system using specific massage techniques.
The lymphatic system is a vital part of our immune system. Part of its function is to drain, transport, filter and remove broken down foreign substances and waste from our tissue.
This gentle, rhythmical, precise, massage-like technique gently moves lymph towards the lymph nodes, where the body can dispose of the waste more easily. The technique is also effective in releasing blockages of lymph flow, which can cause oedema (swelling of the tissues). Other benefits of the treatment are said to include clearer skin, a better immune system and boosted vitality.
Trigger Point Therapy is used in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction and the elimination of active and satellite trigger point activity. A trigger point is a hypersensitive area in a muscle; its tendon or facia. Usually the trigger point is not in the area of the pain, yet pressure over the trigger point will elicit pain in the referred area.
Trauma is a common cause of trigger points by direct injury, stretching or contraction. Once these sensitive regions form, repeated muscular stress will activate pain in the reference zone.
To treat musculoskeletal problems and certain internal organ pain, many doctors, massage therapists, physios and chiropractors administer Remedial Massage techniques using Trigger Point Therapy.
Many Remedial Massage therapists have attained additional training, which usually includes more in-depth study and qualifications in anatomy and physiology. This extra knowledge and understanding will enable the massage therapist to carry out an assessment and provide appropriate treatment for a wide variety of conditions.
It is always advisable to consult a doctor before receiving a massage for specific conditions that may not be related to soft tissue.
Treatment employs massage techniques designed to treat both deep and superficial tissues, not dissimilar to those used in sports massage. The remedial massage therapist uses skilled manipulation combined with in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology to bring about pain relief, correcting and normalising the body’s muscles and soft tissues.
Massage can be defined as the systematic and manual manipulation of the body’s soft tissue for therapeutic purposes promoting health and well-being. Massage has evolved from a combination of Eastern and Western traditions. By far the greatest advancement of therapeutic massage recorded in history was by a Swedish physiologist named Per Henrik Ling (1776-1839), who created a scientific system of massage movements and techniques known as Swedish massage. This consists of five basic strokes: effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), friction, tapotement (percussion) and vibration, though all of these strokes are not used on every part of the body.
Today, massage is a multidimensional skill encompassing a wide variety of ever evolving techniques, many of which have their roots in the Swedish system. The public is now very aware of the value of massage in combating the stresses and tensions of modern living. Athletes, sports people and dancers include massage in their training schedules to aid recovery and to prevent or treat soft tissue injuries.
Most massage therapists utilise Swedish massage as the foundation for a treatment and blend in various techniques, depending upon training and experience, to address the specific needs of the client. In general, the manipulation of the body’s soft tissue (i.e. the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia) using the hands is a gentle, flowing massage technique that uses varying degrees of pressure and stretching movements. It is most commonly used for relaxation and improving well-being.