THE SPORTS MASSAGE
Describing it in a nutshell, the Sports Massage is a
specialty massage technique that was created and developed with
athletes in mind. And as such, the Sports Massage
prepares the bodies of professional and amateur sportspersons
for their best possible performance before participating in a
sport and it then helps their bodies to recover
afterwards. However, just because the Sports Massage was
designed for those participating in sports, you do not have to
be an athlete to reap the benefits from it. After all,
athletes are not the only people who get injured and they by no
means hold the monopoly on pain.
The Sports Massage is, in effect, one of several forms of
the Swedish massage and it promotes an increased circulation of
blood and lymph fluids in the body. To break down or
dissolve adhesions, which are painful clumps or knots within
the muscles, and to widen the range of motion of stiffened
joints, trigger point therapy is incorporated as part of the
Sports Massage session. There are four different types of
Sports Massage therapies and their distinction is made
primarily by its time of performance in relations to the
athlete’s sport activity. In other words, it is mainly
their timing which makes them different from one another.
The four types of Sports Massages are designated as
follows:
* Pre-Event Sports Massage. The Pre-Event Sport
Massage is a vigorous but shortened massage treatment that
lasts anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and is performed right
before the sports event. Its main focus is on those
specific parts of the athlete’s body which will be most
intensively involved in the action.
* Post-Event Sports Massage. The Post-Event Sport
Massage is performed within an hour or two of the event and its
aim is to return bodies to their normal state by helping them
recover from the hard work in the shortest time possible.
* Restorative Sports Massage. The Restorative Sports
Massage is applied while the athlete is in training and it
helps him or her practice harder while, at the same time,
decreasing the chances of incurring injuries.
* Rehabilitative Sports Massage. The Rehabilitative
Sports Massage is there to pick up the proverbial pieces by
treating the injuries which resulted from the exertion of the
sport. The foremost objective of Rehabilitative Sports
Massage is to relieve pain and to return the body to its
former, pre-injury state.
So, whether you are a professional or an amateur athlete or
simply a citizen of the world who happens to have a precise
problem such as a sore knee from your morning jog around the
block or a frozen should because you slept on the wrong side of
the bed or a stiff back because you forgot to use your legs
when lifting the grocery back and so on, do yourself a favor
and see a Sports Massage therapist. And the best
way to find one is by getting referrals from reliable sources
or by doing some research. The National Certification
Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) and the
American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) suggests that you
ask the following questions when interviewing a potential
Sports Massage therapist or any other type of massage
therapist, for that matter:
* Did you graduate from a program accredited by the
Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA)?
* Are you licensed or registered as a massage therapist in this
state?
* Are you certified by the national Certification Board of
Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB)?
* Do you have training in any specific massage modalities?
Beyond all that, you should just relax and enjoy the process
while your body is being directed onto the path of healing.
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