Sports Massage was once only used by professional athletes, Olympic athletes, and collagen athletes to help keep them healthy. Today, so many people are physically active; The weekend warriors, Tuff Mudder's, American Ninja Warriors, Spartan Racers, and Cross Fitters among others. If you have been injured like myself, you dislike being out of commission for any length of time. For me "Sport(s)" simply mean rigorous activity where muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and joints will be taxed.
In many sports because of rigorous training and/ or competition injuries will occur ranging in severity. The greater the force applied to the body, the potential for injury also increases. Injuries usually start as acute (sudden injury), but can also become chronic (long lasting). Injurie predominantly occur two ways, an external force (trauma) or an internal force (repetitive activity). Repetitive injuries are also known as overuse injuries like tendonitis, but can also be caused by recurrent trauma injuries. Some of the most common sports injuries are ankle sprains, MCL sprain, ACL Sprain, Plantar fasciitis, bursitis, Shin Splints, ITB Syndrome, Sciatica, and shoulder impingements. Do any of these sound familiar to you? To mitigate the risk of re-injury full healing of the tissues in very important and that where Massage therapy comes in.
A Sports Massage uses the same techniques as a Swedish Massage or a Deep Tissue Massage. The key to a good Sports Massage is the ability use specific techniques to achieve the best result for the injury and for the individual an the training season (On, Off, or transition period).
by Taniya Brandon, L.M.T, NASM- CPT, Lifestyle and Weight Management Coach
