Sports Massage - Bandra (W) & Andheri (W) 9892981954
Sports Massage Therapy for Recovery, Injury Rehabilitation (Orthopaedic condition)and Better Athletic Performance
The Benefits, Types and Uses of Sports Massage Therapy
Massage is one of my all-time favorite injury rehabilitation techniques. I’d even go as far as saying; it’s the most effective form of injury rehabilitation therapy for speeding up the healing process and preventing re-injury. Without it, the injured athlete rarely recovers fully.
The following article covers a number of very good reasons why massage should be a priority both for injury prevention and rehabilitation.
The Benefits of Massage
Anyone who is a fan of exercise should strongly consider massage therapy as part of an overall lifestyle choice. It is the perfect way to include stress relief in your exercise program. There are, however, other key benefits as well.
Massage therapy, is actually a combination of several different techniques. The overall point of massage is to help muscles relax and relieve tension in the body with a combination of hand strokes and gentle oils. Frequently a therapist will have relaxing music or gentle sounds to help the patient relax more.
Some massage may not have immediate health effects. These deep tissue massages release fluids and tension within deep muscles. The effects are normally delayed, but the next day the general overall feeling is vastly improved. Other benefits include…
- Improved circulation and general nutrition of muscles. This appears to be the most valuable fitness-related benefit. Massage is accompanied or followed by an increase interchange of substances between the blood and the tissue cells, which increases tissue metabolism. Massage maximizes the supply of nutrients and oxygen though increased blood flow, which helps the body rebuild itself.
- Improved range of motion and muscle flexibility. This results in increased power and performance, which helps you work efficiently and with proper intensity to facilitate the body’s muscle-building response.
- Helps shorten recovery time between workouts. Waste products such as lactic and carbonic acid build up in muscles after exercise. Increased circulation to these muscles helps to eliminate toxic debris and shorten recovery time.
- Can help prevent over-training. Massage has a relaxing effect on the muscles, as well as a sedative effect on the nervous system. This can prevent over-training syndrome, which has a limiting effect on muscle building.
- Helps prevent and even heal injuries. By stretching connective tissue, massage improves circulation to help prevent or break down adhesions. Massage also influences the excretion of certain fluids (nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur) necessary for tissue repair.
Types of Massage
Each type of massage is designed for a particular need. Here is a brief summary and definition of the most popular massage techniques.
- Trigger Point Therapy: A trigger point is a tight area within muscle tissue that causes pain in other parts of the body. Trigger point massage therapy is specifically designed to alleviate the source of the pain through cycles of isolated pressure and release. In this type of massage for trigger point therapy, the recipient actively participates through deep breathing as well as identifying the exact location and intensity of the discomfort.
- Deep Tissue Massage: Deep tissue massage therapy is similar to Swedish massage, but the deeper pressure is beneficial in releasing chronic muscle tension. The focus is on the deepest layers of muscle tissue, tendons and fascia (the protective layer surrounding muscles, bones and joints).
- Sports Massage: Sports massage therapy is geared toward athletes. The particulars of the sports massage technique are specific to the athlete’s sport of choice. Focusing on areas of the body that are overused and stressed from repetitive and often aggressive movements.
- Instrument Assisted - break the adhesion or scar tissue following injuries with instrument aided soft tissue manipulation with specialised stainless steel method.
- Cupping - Dry and Wet Cupping to relive the muscle soreness and aids in lymphatic drainage
Sports Massage
The sports massage actually came from the Swedish massage technique. Geared specifically to the athlete, this massage focuses on muscles that have seen a large degree of stress and use, often to the point of overuse. Normally, these are muscles that have seen repetitive and aggressive movement as a part of the overall sport or competition.
The sports massage is now recognized by many in the training industry as an accepted component to an overall regimen of training and competition. This means the athlete can enhance pre-competition and reduce the required recovery period, which means a better and more intensive training session after competition. Flexibility, a necessary component of any athletic completion, is also a part.
Many do not realize it, but the sports massage has certain characteristics that make it ideal for athletes. The targeting of the muscle and tendons within the body is key for athletic training. A study in 2010 in America found athletes who had massages before and after strength training saw a definite decrease in soreness after activity.
There are several key elements to sports massage. To better understand each of these, let’s look at them separately.
- Motion and Flexibility: Professional and superior athletes often overtrain and this leads to muscle rigidity. Sports massage can help relax overly tense muscles and provide additional flexibility. Used before a competition, it will relax the muscles for flexibility, improving performance.
- Shortens Recovery Time: Exercise and competition is stressful on the body. This will lead to injury if proper precautions are not taken. Sports massages are ideal to help the body deal with this stress and injury prevention. A proper massage increases blood flow and lymph fluid, both assisting in the body’s natural healing process, speeding waste removal and general health improvement. Swelling and inflammation associated with physical activity is also reduced. Scar tissue, normal from a severe injury, can be lessened with massage.
- Supply of Oxygen and Nutrients: Blood flow into muscles is vital to creating new tissue and increased strength and stamina. Massage increases blood flow for additional oxygen and nutrients.
- Helps Eliminate By-Products of Exercise: Lactic and uric acids are natural by-products of exercise. Each can be lessened with blood and lymph flow in the body and increase the waste output by a sports massage.
- Psychological Benefits: There is much to be said about psychology and sports. Many do not realize the value of a massage with sports and how a quality massage has more than just physical benefits. The body is only as strong as the mind, so having a strong mind that is relaxed and focused is a definite edge in highly competitive sports. A stressed athlete is not nearly as capable as one with a clear mind.
- Reduces Pain: A body in pain is a sign of overworked muscles and is not healthy. Massage increases blood and lymph fluid flow, thereby speeding the injury rehabilitation process. A massage also helps with pain from spasms and cramps, common with elite athletic training.
Self Massage
As well as all the benefits listed above, self massage has the added benefit of being able to give yourself a massage in the privacy of your own home, plus the obvious cost savings.
You can use your thumbs, fingers, hands and elbows in the same way a massage therapist would if you went to visit them. Warm your muscles up first with some gentle rubbing and kneading, and then gradually increase the pressure you apply to your muscles.
Two problems often arise when using your own hands and elbows; and they are firstly, your arms and hands can become fatigued very quickly, and secondly, you can’t always reach the spots that most need your attention. This is where a self massage tool can come in handy.
Self massage tools come in the form of all sorts of sticks, hooks, foam rollers, balls and hand-held trigger pointers, and to a large extent eliminate the two problems above.
One of the best self massage tools (theraband -Self Massage Roller). it is a massage therapy tool specifically designed to allow anyone a more effective deep tissue massage. Its exclusive TriggerTreads™ enable you to reach deep with minimal effort.
Conclusion and Precautions
These are only just a part of the many positive benefits from sports massages. Many professional athletes from golfers to American football players have a masseuse or masseur on retainer or affiliated with the team. The major non-medical benefits of massage are evident and this helps reduce injury and recovery. Increased performance, brought by greater flexibility and range of motion, mean a lessening chance of injury and faster recovery from injuries as well.
For anyone participating in regular physical activity, sports massage therapy every week or two may be a great addition to your normal regimen. It’s best to talk with a professional massage therapist to find a plan that will work best with your schedule, level of activity and budget.
Before making an appointment with the first massage therapist you encounter, however, be sure they are a qualified bodywork practitioner. Ask for referrals, professional training information, and certification credentials from a reputable agency, such as the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM)
type of treatment that utilizes a stainless steel tool to locate and treat individuals diagnosed with soft tissue dysfunction. This can be used in a variety of ways to treat soft tissues that may be experiencing fascial restrictions (lack of motion), fibrosis (scaring), chronic inflammation or dysfunctional nueromuscular activity. The instrument allows the doctor to locate the areas in need of treatment (due to the vibration the steel tool transmits from injured tissues in the body) and then effectively break down the fascial restrictions through specific movements. This creates a “micro trauma” in the area that is being worked on, thus creating a local inflammatory response and reinitiates the first stage healing response within the body. This helps promote the body’s ability to heal itself by increasing circulation to the area and thus repairing the injured tissues. IASTM also improves neuromuscular activity, helping improve healing and function. Many times this treatment will be performed as the patient is going through specific exercises or ranges of motion.
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Ice Bath Therapy
- Designed for sports teams and clubs to aid recovery after moderate to intense activity.
- Ideal for all sports players to help lactic acid removal after training and competition and fits up to 4 people.
- Use of ice cold water also benefits immediate injury treatment and long-term rehabilitation.
- Extremely useful ice bath for team use to provide cold therapy and speed up muscle recovery.
Certificate Course in Sports Massage
Course objective
The course objective is to teach you the theory and practice of sport massage so that you can include sport massage techniques as a part of your fitness or coaching practice. . If you combine your qualification with appropriate experience and personal attributes you can target employment prospects nationally and internationally or run your own private practice. This course provides a scientific balance between learning theory and learning through practical experience
Admission Criteria and requirements
You need to have a grade 12 school leaving certificate with English as one of the language subjects. In addition, fitness-related qualifications would be preferable.
Learning resources
You will receive a course manual, a learner guide, a portfolio of evidence (PoE) file
Batches from October 2022 in Mumbai.
Fees - Rs. 50000