Sports Massage Therapy                                               

Sports Massage is the management, manipulation and rehabilitation of soft tissues of the body including muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Sports massage can provide a number of benefits, not just to the athlete or sportsperson, but to anyone with poor posture, muscular aches and pains, flexibility issues, or any number of problems.

The techniques used by sports massage practitioners ensure effective and efficient results from each and every massage given.

The benefits of Sports Massage include:

Improve circulation – massage moves blood and lymph fluid through muscles and other tissues, warming and relaxing them, improving function and reducing pain.

Improve scar tissue - making it stronger and more flexible, increasing performance and reducing the likelihood of re-injury and pain.

Increase flexibility/reduce stiffness – massage can make muscle, tendon and ligament less stiff and more elastic, reducing the likelihood of injury as well as improving the overall function of the muscle and surrounding tissue.

Improve posture and pain – massage can increase blood supply warming and loosening the muscle, reducing the sensitivity of nerve endings and feelings of pain. Together with targeted exercise and stretching, it can also help correct the muscle imbalances which cause, and are caused by, poor posture and movement patterns.

Adhesions – after injury or even just a prolonged period of intense exercise, muscles can begin to stick to each other, reducing their ability to function properly, making them more prone to injury and causing pain. Massage can break up these adhesions, returning soft tissue to its normal, fully functional state.

Sports performance and recovery – by increasing the supply of blood, vital nutrients such as oxygen and glucose, and the removal of waste products such lactic acid, massage can not only prepare muscles and other tissues for training and competition, but also speed recovery afterwards. Massage can also help reduce feelings of delayed onset muscle soreness.

Focus and concentration – massage can also be stimulating, improving focus and concentration, exactly what you need before a big game, tournament, or even a meeting or presentation.

Relaxation – on the other hand, massage can be relaxing! Everyone knows it. The occasional massage is worth it, if for no other reason than this.

If you are a sports performer, of any level, a sports specific massage can be beneficial at various stages of participation. For example:

• The conditioning / training phase
• Pre competition
• Inter competition
• Post competition
• Post travel
• Injury prevention
• Injury recovery

Regardless of your experiences in sport or exercise, whether you exercise socially or compete to an international level - sports massage has something to offer you.