Among all treatments which spas offer, sports massage is massively popular. Most athletes and gym-goers take benefit of this massage therapy. Athletes prefer to take this treatment before, during, and after training. But all those people who want to reap the following benefits can go for it:
• Enhanced flexibility.
• Protection from potential injuries.
• Faster healing after an injury.
Its core purpose is to target different kinds of sports injuries. So, don’t think of it as a relaxing one, it can be a strenuous one.
Significance of Sports Massage for Gym-Goers
For gym-goers, this massage reduces stress and tension build up in muscles during workout. As a result, a massage can boost the effectiveness of your workouts. The following are the most desirable advantages of this massage:
• Level of tolerance rise.
• The sports or workout performance increase.
• Decrease the risk of getting injured.
• The rehabilitation time from injury decreases.
What is the Interpretation of Sports Massage?
This massage therapy is a structured manipulation of the body’s soft tissues. Massage therapist targets those muscles that are relevant to a specific sports activity. Some techniques that are an essential component of sports massage therapy are:
• Stroking
• Kneading
• Gliding
• Compression
• Rhythmic striking
• Vibration
• Persuasion
• Trigger points
These techniques help athletes in reaching the peak of their performance level. Moreover, an effective source of body conditioning.
Effects of Sports Massage on Health
This massage therapy is important for sports professionals for a long time. But now it has gained more popularity than ever it has. But can you guess why people have now become so obsessed with sports massage? Because of the proven benefits that this therapy provides them. So, let’s have a look at those significances that can change your life. Furthermore, you will get to know everything you need to know about massage treatment.
1. Proven Source of Comfort for Muscle Injury and Soreness
After a workout or sports activity, most males and females experience muscle soreness. It begins as a minor ache after a few hours of a specific activity. That pain remains consistent for several days. That kind of pain is also famous among people with the medical term called “delayed onset muscle soreness.” The following are the most prevalent causes for it to happen:
• When the length of muscles increases. We commonly call this kind of condition eccentric contraction.
• Activities like weight lifting, lowering down during squats or running downhill.
The lower body movements cause more muscle soreness than upper body movements. This soreness becomes obvious almost after 6-8 hours. You can feel it for one or two days because it almost takes 72 hours to diminish.
For fast and effective results sports massage therapy is ideal. Because it can elevate the 30% of the discomfort caused by soreness. Research also proved that a 30-minute massage can do wonders for bodybuilders after exercise. They experienced a better recovery rate and also perform better in further workouts.
This massage can also help with soft tissue regeneration. It increases the healing activity of fibroblasts in tendons that increase the pace of recovery.
2. Increase Body’s Flexibility
Whether a person is an athlete or an exerciser, both strive to do their best. Continuous training causes a bad impact on your muscles. Also, you have to bear the adverse health effects of too much exercise. Whenever someone overtrains himself a muscle rigidity occurs. So, good massage therapy relaxes your body muscles and improves your flexibility level. Your body experiences flexibility because of a decrease in pain.
Sports massage reduces pain by enhancing the production of endorphins. These hormones act as a natural pain killer for us due to which we feel comfort. As a result, movement restores and flexibility increases.
When the flexibility of the body increase, you will reap the following benefits:
• Your range of motion increases.
• You attain performance maximization.
• The tension in body muscles decrease.
3. Raise Recovery Speed
Exercise or any kind of sports activity can be very stressful on the body. The unsafe use of muscles can lead to severe workout injuries. Going beyond your limits never means that you put your body at stake. Well, if that thing happens sports massage is an ideal option to choose. You can easily deal with the injury stress and injured area because of it. A good massage results in an increase in blood and lymph circulation. Both of them play a crucial role in the natural body healing process.
The injury causes swelling and inflammation in the affected area. By taking massage therapy it’s so convenient to get rid of it. Sports massage can also address tissue scar, a normal form of muscle injury.
4. Significant Pain Reduction
The affected area gets inflamed, causing severe discomfort. But an increase in blood flow reduces that inflammation to a great extent. Additionally, massage therapy lifts off the muscle tension that usually causes chronic pain. An athlete can be at his best after getting sports massage therapy. Because by removing all discomforts it enhances performance level. It’s so obvious that any kind of pain or injury acts as a hurdle in getting good form. So, a massage conveniently provides relief from fatigue, muscle swelling, and tension.
Any kind of high-intensity physical activity builds up muscle tension in your body’s soft tissues. The minor lesions in them can cause chronic pain. This pain won’t let you focus on your workout or training. Taking sports massage is not all about getting relief from pain. It’s a wonderful option for everyone who wants to optimize their abilities.
5. Improve Blood and Lymphatic Circulation
Blood circulation gets better because of friction between skin and fingers. Increased circulation maintains muscles strength and energy. While improved lymphatic circulation excretes toxins and waste products of the body. Removal of exercise by-products from muscles makes them healthy. Here are some techniques which massage therapists use to enhance circulation:
• Effleurage:
It is a gentle massage technique that incorporates various ranges of pressure. Therapists use flattened hands and fingers in directional strokes. It stimulates the receptors that cause vasodilation. The increase in blood flow via this technique brings the following advantages:
• Muscle flexibility is enhanced.
• Decrease restriction due to which range of movement increases.
• Wringing:
Professionals bring the affected area to the centre in opposite directions by pulling both sides of it. They execute this by using flat hands and fingers. This technique is mostly used to loosen tight muscles and relieve tension. The increase in circulation flushes out metabolic waste from the body. As a result, muscles receive fresh blood and necessary nutrients.
• Lymphatic Drainage:
This technique involves applying pressure in an upward direction along with muscles. Because of this pressure metabolic waste moves towards the gland and then lymph flow. Usually swelling around a specific area, block the circulation of lymph flow. The successful removal of wastes via better lymph flow reduce swelling and reduce pain.
6. Memory and Concentration Increase
The benefit of sports massage is not only confined to efficient thinking, it improves memory too. Blood circulation to the brain is often restricted by stiff neck and shoulder muscles. Due to this the brain face difficulty in supporting memory and concentration. When a massage relaxes body muscles, it also reduces stress. This impact ultimately results in focus and effective performance. Moreover, there are several benefits of massage therapy for a healthy stress-free life.
Our positive emotions have a strong connection with our thinking and memory. On contrary, negative emotions promote pessimistic thinking and lack of concentration. If we leave chronic stress or pessimistic thinking unattended, they can damage brain cells and the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a region of the brain that helps us remember things.
The activation of the happy frontal lobes of the brain controls the gate of the aggressive part of the limbic system. The emotional brain is another name for that section of the limbic system. By keeping the emotional brain in check, you can do any task efficiently that requires your focus. Relaxation and positive thinking are very essential for your mind. Without any doubt, massage is the best way to keep your mental capacity in shape by offering stress relief.
7. Effective for Sticky Bones
This massage is effective for separating muscle fibres that have stuck with each other. Or they have stuck with the soft tissues around them. Sometimes, muscles fibre stick with the bone and negatively affect mobility. Moreover, increase the level of muscles stiffness in the body. Sports massage can help you get rid of stiffness and sticky fibres. Your muscles and soft tissues will be mobilized as a result of this. The therapist aims to provide you with ease from this discomfort as soon as possible. For this purpose, they use a specific technique called the soft tissue release technique.
Some of the expected benefits of this technique are:
• The mobility of the affected area increase.
• It breaks down the fibrous adhesions of soft tissues.
• The range of motion of the body’s joints enhance.
• The muscular balance gets better.
Final Comments:
We can sum up the discussion by stating that sports massage has a wide range of health benefits. There is no niche market for which this massage therapy has been designed. But yes, athletes and exercisers are attracted to it more than others. This treatment basically focuses on those areas that are overused because of strenuous activities. Moreover, produce a positive impact on the mental wellness of individuals.
Apart from sports massage, hot stone massage is also an effective approach for overall well being. This massage therapy gives relaxation to stiffed muscles. Moreover, address the damaged soft tissues throughout the body.