The Benefits of a Sports Massage

Monday, October 10, 2011

Sports massage is a specialized type of massage therapy used before, during and after athletic events. The purpose of this type of massage is to help the athletes prepare their body for the event and to help it heal faster afterwards. All athletes extol the benefits of a sport massage and this is why many of the major competitive teams have their own therapist on the payroll. Some of the benefits include:

* Enhance performance

Sports Fitness

* Reduce muscle fatigue during the event

* Relieve pain and swelling afterwards

* Promote flexibility of the muscles

* Prevent injuries

The needs of all athletes are not the same, which is why many different techniques are used in a sports massage. Generally, the therapists use a combination of Swedish massage and Shiatsu. This is because each sport puts different demands on the athletes' bodies and need to be treated individually. In addition to helping the athletes feel better, the massage also helps to regulate the blood pressure and increase the circulation of blood to the lymph nodes. Since different athletes use different muscles when they compete, they also need to have different treatments for these muscle groups.

Many people think that a sports massage takes place only after an event. However, since athletes work out on a daily basis, they need massages to help the body recuperate from the work out. Just before an event, an athlete may have a massage to loosen the muscles better than stretching would do. This also helps to prepare the muscles for the rigorous work ahead.

The Benefits of a Sports Massage