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Sports massage

Sports massage should play an important part in the life of any active person whether they are injured or not. Massage has a number of benefits both physical, physiological and psychological.

There are many physical effects of sports massage:

Improve tissue elasticity - Hard training can make tissues hard and inelastic. This is one reason why hard training may not result in improvements. Massage helps reverse this by stretching the tissues.

The stroking movements in massage suck fluid through blood vessels and lymph vessels. By increasing the pressure in front of the stroke, a vacuum is created behind. This is especially important in tight or damaged muscle tissue, as a tight muscle will squeeze blood out like a sponge, depriving the tissues of vital nutrients and energy to repair.

Increased tissue permeability - Deep massage causes the pores in tissue membranes to open, enabling fluids and nutrients to pass through. This helps remove waste products such as lactic acid and encourage the muscles to take up oxygen and nutrients, which help them recover quicker.

Stretching - Massage can stretch tissues that could not be stretched in the usual methods. Bundles of muscle fibres are stretched lengthwise as well as sideways. Massage can also stretch the sheath or fascia that surrounds the muscle, so releasing any tension or pressure build up.

Break down scar tissue - Scar tissue is the result of previous injuries or trauma and can affect muscle, tendons and ligaments. This can lead to inflexible tissues that are prone to injury and pain.

Opens micro-circulation - Massage does increase blood flow to tissues, but so does exercise. What massage also does is open or dilate the blood vessels and by stretching them this enables nutrients to pass through more easily.

The physiological effects of sports massage are:

Pain reduction - Tension and waste products in muscles can often cause pain. Massage helps reduce this in many ways including releasing the bodies endorphins.

Relaxation - Muscles relax through heat generated, circulation and stretching. Mechanoreceptors, which sense touch, pressure, tissue length and warmth are stimulated causing a reflex relaxation.

Psychological effects of massage are:

Anxiety reduction - through the effects mentioned above relaxation is induced and so reduces anxiety levels.

Invigorating - if massage is done with brisk movements such as what would be done before an event then this can produces an invigorating feeling.


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