What Can Sports Massage Do for You?
Most
people are aware that massage can be relaxing, but what they may not know
is that it can be extremely beneficial for athletes, or those doing a
job that causes repetitive stress syndrome. Here’s how
sports massage can help:
- Increases flexibility. Massage allows your muscles to
move more freely. If you are more flexible, you are less likely to
tear or otherwise strain a muscle.
- Increase strength. Muscles that are overworked
usually have a weaker part (most often, the part that attaches to
the bone, also known as the tendon). Getting a massage on a regular
basic can help reverse this tendency.
- Reduce tension. If your muscles are too tight,
proper blood flow can’t get to the injured muscle to heal it
naturally. (The blood carries oxygen, minerals and nutrition to the
part of the body that needs to heal.)
- Enhance recovery time and speed the healing process.
With exercise, the body produces lactic acid, which helps you
continue your work out. But if lactic acid isn’t flushed out of your
muscles, it can form a knot and subsequently restrict the blood flow
to the injured muscle.
- Reduce muscle spasms. Each time the nervous
system sends a pain signal to the brain, it travels along the same
pathway. And each time the signal is repeated, the resistance
lessens, sending muscles into spasm faster and sooner. By breaking
up scar tissue in the muscles, the massage therapist can retrain
them to relax.
- Decrease soreness. By focusing on massaging the
muscle that is aching, the therapist can bring blood into the area.
Once again, the blood is what carries oxygen, minerals, and
nutrition to the muscles that need to be replenished.
- Assess possible injuries. It’s important not to
overstress the most frequently used muscle groups. A well-trained
massage therapist can identify poor body mechanics and help you
avoid a more serious condition.
Remember, healthy muscles don’t hurt. And muscles
kept healthy with massage can absorb the shock of a soft tissue injury
and bounce back more quickly.
Getting a
sports massage on a regular
basis can help enhance your overall athletic or work performance. By
giving your body time to heal, your muscle tightness will decrease and
your natural recovery will speed up. A sports massage makes you less
tired after a workout, as well as more alert and better able to perform.