Whether you’re a professional athlete or are completely new to the fitness world, you may have come across sports massage therapy. But you may be wondering, what is a sports massage exactly?
In this article, we’ll answer this question and more! We’ll cover everything you need to know about sports massage therapy.
Contents:
- What Is Sports Massage: Definition
- When To Get A Sports Massage
- Benefits Of Sports Massage
- Who Needs Sports Massage Therapy?
- The Different Types Of Sports Massage
- Other Effects Of Sports Massage
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What Is Sports Massage: Definition
So, sports massage – what is it?
Sports massage therapy is a deep form of massage, which involves the mobilisation and manipulation of soft tissue.
Soft tissue is defined as any connective tissue that hasn’t hardened into bone or cartilage. This includes:
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ligaments
- Skin
- Fascia (a form of connective tissue that lines other soft tissues)
Generally, a sports massage is used to relax the musculoskeletal system, which helps to warm-up the muscles prior to any form of physical activity. Both of these actions help to prevent injury during exercise.
Sports massage therapy can also be used for recovery and rehabilitation of soft tissue injury, which has been caused through strenuous physical activity and injury.
A sports massage therapist is someone who carries out a sports massage, as well as giving advice and guidance on how someone can prevent injuries from occurring in the future.
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When To Get A Sports Massage
A sports massage is good for both for specific event training for as part of a more general training programme.
We will explore each of these instances below!
Pre-Event Sports Massage Therapy: What is it & What’s it Good For?
Regular sports massage can be beneficial as part of a normal training programme and can be created by a therapist based on your requirements. The benefits of regular sports massages include:
- Maintaining or improving your range of movement and flexibility
- Assisting with recovery, helping to facilitate the growth and re-building phase of your training
- Preventing injuries, as therapists can target any areas that are likely to cause problems whilst you are training’
Post-Event Sports Massage: What is it & What’s it Good For?
Whether you’ve played a football match, or just completed a marathon, post-event sports massages are always a sensible idea.
This can be done either straight afterwards, or up to 3 days after the event.
A post-event sports massage works by:
- Reducing delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
- Reducing muscle spasms
- Removing any metabolic build-up of waste products that may have occurred during exercise
- Encouraging faster muscle recovery
All of these things can help you prevent injuries, and help prepare the body for future exercise. This means that you can return to training much more quickly!
The Benefits of Sports Massage as Part of a General Training Programme
When thinking about ‘what is sports therapy massage?’, you may not have thought about the possibility of including sports massage as part of a regular training programme.
You may also be wondering what a sports massage is good for if you’re not a professional athlete.
But in fact, anyone who exercises in any form can benefit from a sports massage!
Regular sports massage can be beneficial as part of a normal training programme, and can be created by a therapist based on your individual requirements.
For instance, you may choose for the massage to be concentrated on specific muscle groups, to maintain or improve your range of movement and flexibility. It can also assist with recovery, and help to facilitate the growth and re-building phase of your training.
This means that you’ll perform better during your programme, whether you’re a professional athlete, or an amateur wanting to make the next step in your career!
Getting regular massages as part of a programme can also act as a preventive measure, as therapists can target any areas that are likely to cause injuries whilst you are training.
Benefits Of Sports Massage
Now you know what the purpose of a sports massage is and the different things that it can be good for, let’s dive a little deeper into some of the great benefits they can bring!
#1 – Sports Massage Therapy Can Reduce DOMS
DOMS, or delayed-onset muscle soreness, can be caused by a number of factors during high-intensity exercise, including:
- Muscle or connective tissue damage, caused by microscopic tears in the muscle fibres.
- Muscle spasm, that reduces blood flow
- A build-up of waste products in the muscles
Getting a sports massage can help prevent or reduce the intensity of DOMS.
For example, targeted sports massage helps to improve lymphatic flow and blood circulation within the body. Increased blood flow enables more oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to an area, which assists the repair of damaged tissues.
Plus, sports massages can prevent DOMS as the action increases the temperature of soft tissues, which allows them to relax.
#2 – Sports Massage Therapy Can Relieve Tight Muscles
Another benefit of having frequent sports massages is that they can help to relieve tight muscles.
Knots that form within the muscle as a result of tightness can limit your flexibility, which increases pain and leads to a higher risk of future injury.
A sports therapy massage is good for increasing blood flow through tight muscles, which helps to stretch the muscle fibres and break down knots and inflexible tissues.
Even athletes in their off-seasons can benefit from sports massages, as they help to decrease tightness and tension in muscles that have been over-stressed during the season.
Having sports massages regularly can therefore help to improve flexibility, reduce your chance of sustaining an injury. This will then all help to maximise your sporting performance!
#3 – Sports Massage Therapy Can Reduce Pain
Alongside helping to relieve tightness, sports therapy massage is good for controlling and managing pain.
Firstly, sports massages relieve pain by interrupting the body’s pain signals. These are impulses that run up the spinal cord to the brain.
Sports massages also allow the body to release natural pain killers. These are morphine-like substances, which the body makes and releases in order to override painful sensations.
#4 – Regular Sports Massages Can Improve Sporting Performance
You don’t have to be experiencing any pain or difficulty to participate in sports massage. In fact, regularly scheduled maintenance massages can be highly beneficial for athletic performance!
We’ve already established that sports massage therapy can reduce pain, DOMS, and muscle tightness. All of these things therefore mean that athletes can train more frequently, leading to a higher level of performance.
That’s why for many professional athletes, having a sports massage therapist is just as important for their career as other members of their team such as a strength and conditioning coach.
Sports massage therapists are also trained to be able to create customised treatment plans based upon their client’s specific needs, injuries, and challenges.
They can therefore identify and treat specific weaknesses before they develop into injury, which can drastically improve athletic performance.
Sports massages have also been proven to help improve and stabilise mood. This in turn can impact how effectively athletes perform during physical activity, including observation and decision-making skills.
People suffering from an injury or pain that is specific to one part of the body cab experience the benefits of sports massage.
#5 – Sports Massage Can Help You Relax
It may sound obvious, but an often overlooked answer to the question, ‘what is a sports massage good for?’, is that it can help you relax!
By this, we mean that it can help you relax both physically and mentally. As well as having strong physical performance, an equally important aspect of fitness is the ability to relax and switch off. And a sports massage can help you do just that!
The action of a sports massage generates heat throughout the muscles, which eases tension and allows them to relax. This is great for those who may be prone to overuse injuries, as the muscles are given a chance to relax and recover before exercising again.
Not only do sports massages help to relax the muscles, but its motion helps to soothe the nervous system and brain too- particularly if your therapist uses a good massage oil to help you relax.
This is what contributes to the overall relaxed feeling that you will experience after a sports massage.
#6 – Sports Massage Can Help You Sleep Better
When wondering, ‘what is sports massage good for?’, you may not have thought sports massage can be great at aiding better sleep.
Sleep is an often overlooked, but very important element of recovery. As well as giving you more energy for physical activity, getting a good night’s sleep is also essential for muscle recovery, as it is during sleep that your muscles have time to repair and relax.
In fact, improved sleep is one of the best mental health benefits of exercise!
By relieving pain and discomfort in the muscles, sports massage promotes relaxation. This in turn will help you sleep better!
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Enjoying this article so far? Here’s 3 more that we think you’ll love:
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Who Needs Sports Massage Therapy?
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of sports massage, let’s now take a look at the different benefits for different types of people, from beginners to professional athletes and more!
Sports Massage is Good for Fitness Beginners
Whether you exercise once a week or every day, managing the impact of physical activity is crucial. Beginners, in particular, should take measures to ensure proper recovery. Without it, issues like DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and muscle tightness are likely, increasing the risk of injury.
Benefits for beginners include:
- Reducing the risk of overtraining by relaxing muscles
- Improving flexibility over time
- Lowering the likelihood of injury when starting out
If you fail to do this, particularly as a beginner, you are likely to suffer from things such as DOMS and muscle tightness. This could then make you more likely to sustain an injury as a result of overtraining without sufficient recovery.
For beginners, sports massage is good for reducing the risk of overtraining, since it helps to relax the muscles. In the long term, it can also help improve your flexibility.
All of these factors mean that sports massage can make you less likely to sustain an injury when starting out with fitness.
Sports Massage Can Help Those With Injuries
If you’re dealing with a specific injury or pain, a sports massage can support recovery. A qualified therapist can use targeted techniques to address problem areas.
Common injuries sports massage can help with:
- Runner’s knee
- Plantar fasciitis
- Tennis elbow
- Tight hamstrings
- Neck and back pain
Sports Massage is Good for Professional Athletes
Professional athletes regularly use sports massage to enhance preparation, recovery, and rehabilitation. The therapy helps prevent injuries caused by muscle tightness, which, if ignored, could hinder career progression.
How professional athletes benefit:
- Avoiding permanent injury or damage
- Identifying muscle abnormalities before they cause issues
- Integrating massage into regular training for ongoing performance improvement
Sports Massage Benefits Amateur Athletes
Amateur athletes, whether playing sports as a hobby or competing casually, can also benefit greatly from sports massage. Injuries are just as common, if not more, in amateur athletes, yet they often lack access to the same resources as professionals.
Why amateur athletes should consider sports massage:
- Reduces the risk of injury during sport
- Improves performance, potentially aiding progression to a professional level
- Accessible through self-sought therapists
Whether you’re a beginner, an amateur, or a professional, sports massage offers a range of benefits tailored to your needs, helping you recover and perform at your best.
The Different Types Of Sports Massage
So, we have explained what a sports massage is in general and who can benefit from them. But in fact, there are many different types of sports massage, depending on the type of client and what is being treated. We will explain them all below!
Effleurage
The first stage of most sports massage is called Effleurage. This is the lightest massage technique.
Meaning ‘to flow’ or ‘to guide’, Effleurage involves light touching with a regular rhythm, and is often used as an introduction to sports massage.
Its main purpose is to allow the therapist to gauge an idea of the condition of the muscles and surrounding tissues.
Effleurage also has a calming, relaxing effect on both the muscles and the temperament of the patient, meaning that they feel settled and ready to undergo some of the rougher techniques.
As a gentler technique, Effleurage can also be used as a rest period, and often links together each of the other sports massage techniques.
Petrissage
Petrissage means ‘to knead’, and as the name suggests, is a deeper massage technique than Effleurage.
When wondering ‘what is a sports therapy massage?’, the technique that most likely springs to mind is Petrissage. It consists of manipulating the tissue, from lifting, to squeezing, and moving tissues.
The pressure exerted during Petrissage increases blood flow, allowing waste products to be removed more quickly, and oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to replenish the muscles.
There are a few different forms of Petrissage, including:
- Kneading– The soft tissues in the muscles, skin, and the bones underneath are moved against one another.
- Picking– One hand is used to move, squeeze, and lift tissues, whilst the other hand supports the corresponding limb, to hold it in place.
- Wringing– As the hands move up and down, tissues are lifted from the bone and pushed side to side.
- Rolling– Using the fingertips and thumbs, the therapist gently grips the skin and rolls it. This targets the subcutaneous layer, which is the deepest layer of skin.
- Pressures– The therapist places pressure, or compression, on the soft tissues until they reach a natural stop. They hold for a few seconds, then release the area.
Tapotement
Although sports massage relaxes the muscles, it is also designed to manipulate tissues and aid recovery.
This means that a sports massage therapist is trained to progress from Effleurage, to rougher massage techniques, such as Tapotement.
Tapotement techniques aim to further increase blood circulation, stimulate the contraction of muscle fibres, soften areas of hard tissue, and increase tone.
There are several different Tapotement techniques, such as:
- Hacking– With palms facing each other, the hands rapidly strike muscle tissues in a light, springy, chopping motion.
- Cupping– By forming an arch with the fingers, the hands are brought together in a cup shape. Then, creating a vacuum, they alternatively strike the skin.
- Beating– Using loosely clenched fists, the heel of the hands, and the mid-section of the fingers, larger areas, such as the thighs or glutes, are alternatively struck.
- Pounding– This is a similar technique to beating, but the fists are instead turned inward and are circled over each other as they strike the target area.
What is Friction?
Whereas Tapotement techniques generally focus on larger areas, Friction is a more specific, advanced technique that focuses on small areas at a time.
Using only the fingers and thumbs, friction is performed forwards and backwards across muscle fibres.
As a rough technique, this can cause discomfort and bruising for up to 48 hours post-massage. Therapists should therefore use Effleurage at regular intervals, to give theirs and their client’s joints a break from such an intense treatment.
It may be an intense technique, but it’s also extremely effective at removing adhesions and scarring, improving circulation, and increasing range of motion. After all, that is what the purpose of a sports massage is!
What is Vibration & Shaking?
The final sports massage technique is vibration and shaking, which can be used to either relax or activate the muscles.
If you’re an athlete wondering what pre-event sports massage is like, then you’re most likely to encounter these techniques, as they’re used to improve circulation and relieve muscle tightness before physical activity.
During vibration, either light or speedy strokes can be used.
Lighter strokes activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the ‘rest and digest response.’ This therefore releases tension and helps the muscles to relax.
Speedy strokes activate the circulatory system, and instead of muscles, the soft tissues are relaxed.
Progressing from light to more forceful shaking, the shaking technique consists of lifting and pulling motions. Learn more about the Psychological & Physiological Effects of Sports Massage.
Before You Go!
Feeling inspired? Begin your journey to become a qualified sports massage therapist with our Level 3 Sports Massage Therapy Course.
You can check out the full range of courses we offer by downloading our course prospectus here.
