The (honest) benefits of Sports Massage
Sports massage is used to address a variety of different complaints, the most common is to help in the relief of muscle aches and tension. A combination of deep tissue techniques with trigger point therapy appears to provide a reduction in sensitivity and stimulates relaxation of tense areas.
Massage is a great tool for helping to desensitise tense or painful muscles, as well as providing a period of relaxation, both physically and mentally, that you may not have otherwise gained. In fact mood enhancement after a massage is well documented with one study finding massage “consistently produced positive mood enhancement with significant decreases in tension, confusion, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and anger while maintaining high levels of vigor, which is representative of positive mental health.”(1)
If you love massage, then read no further because the improvement in mental wellbeing will bring untold benefits to you physically as well and I can’t think of a bigger reason than this to book a massage!
However, if you’re interested in some myth busting, then carry on….
Massage is also commonly used to aid recovery following intense periods of training or competition. The research is mixed on this. Does massage provide physiological changes to muscle tissue? Probably not. I’m afraid the complex process of buffering lactic acid from your muscles is best left to your body and as for lengthening a shortened muscle, I would be concerned if it was that easy!
“You go for a run and it just feels like the stars are aligned & you could run for days!”
Think of the days you go for a run, and it just feels like all the stars are aligned and you can run for days! We always try to pin this down to something specific we have done, when in truth it is a lot of factors coming together simultaneously. A good night’s sleep, nutritionally your muscle glycogen stores are up, you’re hydrated, your testosterone levels are elevated, the sun is shining, your playlist is nailed, it’s the weekend, oh and yesterday you had a massage….!
“Let’s not over-think it, if a massage feels good & it feels like it helps you, then go for it!”
If you’re hoping, it’s the sole answer to the pain in your hip / knee / ankle or the missing piece as to why you feel frequently fatigued; read on and I’ll explain how we use massage to address these factors.
During a Sports Therapy session I may use sports massage or manual therapy techniques to address a specific issue found during assessment. Massage becomes a directed tool to achieve a given outcome. Perhaps your muscle is guarding an area that is or was previously damaged, perhaps the hypertonic nature of a muscle is preventing good movement patterns, or a muscle is underactive and requires stimulation. When we target a specific outcome we must measure it, which sometimes is a subjective – “how does that feel” but usually will involve objective measures.
So, booking a Sports Therapy session doesn’t mean you won’t be given any hands-on treatment, but it does mean the hands-on treatment can be more targeted and supported by rehabilitation exercises that will help to prolong the massage benefits.
Massage treatment alone will, in most cases, be a temporary fix. It may help to break a cycle of pain and tension to allow freer movement, which will keep the pain at bay. A bit like a plaster for a graze. However, often it is not enough, when used in isolation to stop the complaint returning.
To recap, massage is great and if you like it & you feel better after then go get one! If you have a specific complaint, let’s assess it and use soft tissue therapies like massage, trigger pointing or myofascial release in combination with rehabilitation exercises to target specific findings of the assessment.
Contact me to discuss your condition and see how it might help. Or book straight into my diary here.
1. The Relationship of Massage & Exercise to Mood Enhancement – The Sport Psychologist. Weinberg. R., Jackson.A., Kolodny. K.
2. Does Massage Help Athletes After Exercise? Sriwongtong. M., Goldman. J., Kobayashi. Y., Gottschalk. A.W. 2020. 20(2): 121 - 122
