Sports Massage Tulsa enhance the body’s natural ability to recover from injuries, and improves flexibility and agility. It’s a crucial part of an athlete’s routine and can even prevent future injury.
Pain reduction is another key benefit of sports massage. It does this by interrupting pain signals from the spinal cord and stimulating morphine-like substances that are produced by the body.
Whether you’re an athlete or a weekend warrior, sports massage can reduce the wear and tear that intense physical activity puts on your muscles, joints and soft tissues. And that can make all the difference in your athletic performance, both during training and competition.
In fact, a 2016 study found that massage therapy enhances performance by increasing muscle flexibility and strengthening muscle mass. This allows for greater range of motion and less fatigue, allowing athletes to push harder at their sport or exercise.
Sports massage also increases circulation and aids in the removal of metabolic waste, like lactic acid, which is a leading cause of post-exercise soreness. As a result, it helps your muscles recover faster so you can return to your normal workout routine sooner.
If you’re in need of a recovery massage, sports techniques like deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy and joint mobilization can be used to break down scar tissue and speed up the healing process. This can help your injured tissue regain full function and allow you to get back to your regular training schedule sooner, so you can reach your peak performance.
A well-trained sports massage therapist can also use specific techniques to improve an athlete’s range of motion and flexibility. This is especially helpful for those involved in sports that require a high level of flexibility, like gymnastics or running. Techniques include deep tissue work, myofascial release, and joint mobilization to stimulate the production of the body’s natural lubricant, synovial fluid, which helps maintain your range of motion.
In addition to promoting flexibility, sports massage can also help you build stronger and more resilient muscles by targeting the areas most affected by intensive physical activity. For example, in a recent case study with a runner, our sports massage therapist identified tightness and imbalances in the hamstrings and hip flexors of her client. These issues were causing her to shorten her stride length and run at a decreased capacity. Our therapist worked with her to strengthen these tight muscles and restore balance, which ultimately improved her overall running efficiency and reduced her post-race soreness.
Reduced Risk of Injuries
Sports massage is often used as a pre-event or post-event injury prevention and recovery strategy. Pre-event massages help prepare the muscles for optimum performance by warming up the muscles, boosting circulation, and reducing stiffness and tension. Post-event massages remove metabolic waste products from the muscle, speeding up the recovery process and reducing soreness.
Muscle imbalances and tightness are common causes of sports injuries. Athletes often suffer from overuse injuries as a result of aggressive training techniques or overuse of certain muscle groups. Regular sessions of sports massage help to reduce and prevent these types of injuries by addressing imbalances, flexibility, strength, and endurance.
Athletes often experience high levels of stress when participating in sporting events or training. Massage can alleviate this stress by triggering the release of endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators and painkillers. As a result, athletes are able to approach their sport or training with a clear mind and focus.
Intense physical activity can lead to the build-up of metabolic waste products such as lactic acid in the muscle. This build-up leads to muscle fatigue and weakness which increases the risk of injury. During a massage, the lymphatic system is stimulated which helps to flush these metabolic waste products away from the muscle. This reduction in fatigue and weakness allows the athlete to train more, which will eventually increase their athletic performance.
Athletes who undergo regular massages have a lower risk of developing exercise-related injuries such as hamstring strains, shoulder tendonitis, quadriceps spasms, and ankle sprains. In addition to preventing these injuries, sports massage also helps in the treatment of existing injuries by increasing circulation, decreasing inflammation, and relieving muscle spasms. Sports massage can be applied to all stages of an athlete’s career, including preparation, training, and competition, as well as post-event and maintenance.
Post-Event Recovery
Sports massage can be used as part of a pre-event or post-event recovery strategy. Incorporating regular sessions into your routine can help prevent injury and promote optimal muscle function. Pre-event sports massage focuses on warming up muscles, increasing circulation, and reducing mental tension to improve performance. It usually includes quick, rhythmic techniques such as effleurage and petrissage. A pre-event session can last between 10 and 20 minutes and is performed shortly before an event or training session to increase blood flow to the muscles and prepare them for intense activity.
During exercise, waste products such as lactic acid build up in the muscles. If not removed quickly, this can cause discomfort, soreness and stiffness, and lead to prolonged recovery times. A post event massage can help speed up the removal of these waste products by encouraging the body to flush them out through the lymphatic system. Incorporating post-event massage into an athlete’s training routine can decrease the time it takes to recover after a workout and improve the athlete’s ability to train consistently.
Regular maintenance sports massages can help athletes stay healthy and at peak performance by preventing injuries and overuse issues. These sessions can also address chronic tightness and tense areas that are susceptible to injury. They can also enhance an athlete’s flexibility and range of motion, which can be important for certain sports and can reduce the risk of injury in the future.
For athletes who are prone to injury, including massage in their regular training regimen can significantly decrease the chances of suffering from an injury. This is because massage helps to prevent overworked muscles, which are more prone to injury. It can also help improve their recovery process, by stimulating the production of natural joint lubricants (synovial fluid), which aids in the flexibility and movement of joints.
Athletes who regularly receive sports massage have a competitive advantage over those who do not. By reducing the risks of injuries and enhancing their overall training performance, sports massage can help them perform better and win more competitions. If you are interested in including this type of therapy in your training program, speak to a qualified therapist about the options available for you.
Maintenance Massages
While it’s common for professional athletes to get a massage pre- and post-event, they also make sure to schedule regular bodywork sessions. These preventative treatments help them to stay limber and keep their bodies in peak condition. This makes it easier to recover from an injury, improves sleep quality and reduces anxiety. The stress reduction alone can benefit the athlete’s mental state, improving their focus and clarity.
In addition to muscle performance, sports massage also enhances hydration and helps to eliminate metabolic waste products such as lactic acid. This is important because these toxins can cause muscle soreness and inhibit the body’s ability to perform at a high level. Massage breaks up this lactic acid, allowing the muscles to recover faster and return to their normal range of motion.
Getting a massage can also help to prevent an overuse injury. This type of injury occurs when a muscle is overused and becomes tight and short, restricting blood flow. It is usually caused by repetitive movements, poor posture or sudden exertion. Sports massage techniques can detect and alleviate these imbalances, preventing them from escalating into injuries.
Massage also increases flexibility and range of motion, which is important for most athletic fields. It also aids in the recovery of injuries by checking for ‘firing patterns’, or the motor neuron signals sent to activate and contract muscles, ensuring they are working properly.
Athletes often have a tough time relaxing, and that can be detrimental to their performance. Having a regular, scheduled massage can help to relax the muscles and the mind, allowing the athlete to fully decompress. This is especially beneficial for the busy lifestyles of many athletes, who are balancing work, home and training.
Routine maintenance massages can be tailored to the needs of each client, based on their sport and levels of participation. For example, a golfer may need more regular sessions than a runner who only needs maintenance for their knees. The therapist will work with the athlete to determine how frequently the therapy is needed. Athletes who participate in high impact sports may need to be seen more regularly, or even daily if they are in the thick of their season.