Whether you’re an amateur athlete trying to achieve a new personal best or a seasoned competitor, Sports Massage Tulsa can improve your performance. It will help your muscles and joints prepare and recover from intense training, reducing the risk of injury.
Massage techniques such as effleurage (sliding strokes) and petrissage (kneading) relax muscles, identify trigger points and tender areas, break up muscle “knots” and increase blood flow. It also helps reduce delayed onset muscle soreness.
Sports Massage is a specialized form of deep tissue massage that targets the muscles of the body that are used most during exercise. The technique is designed to increase flexibility and range of motion, alleviate pain from tight or sore muscles and to promote injury prevention. This type of massage is beneficial for athletes of all levels, from the beginner to the professional athlete. It is important to understand that even though sports massage can improve your performance, it should be used as part of a complete training and recovery regimen.
The physical manipulation that is involved in sports massage creates heat within muscle tissues, which in turn breaks down adhesions and improves the condition of ligaments, tendons, and muscles. The friction of the massage also increases the flow of blood, allowing for better oxygen circulation and removing metabolic waste such as lactic acid, which can cause muscle soreness. The increased blood flow and reduced adhesions improve the body’s ability to move and function properly, which reduces muscle stiffness and soreness and allows for a faster rate of recovery.
Another way that sports massage benefits the body is through lymphatic drainage. This process removes excess fluid and metabolic waste that builds up as a result of exercise, which can cause discomfort, weakness, fatigue, and decrease the strength and efficiency of the muscles. The effleurage techniques that are used during a sports massage, specifically the deep effleurage strokes that are performed in the direction of the heart, help to increase venous return and thus improve the lymphatic drainage system.
The psychological benefits of sports massage are also significant. The pressure applied during the massage communicates with the brain, triggering the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers and mood enhancers. This helps to reduce stress and anxiety that can be associated with competitive sports and can lead to improved focus and a more positive mindset.
Increased Temperature
Sports massage increases the temperature of the soft tissues and breaks down adhesions that develop during injury. This increases the elasticity of the muscle and enhances movement, which can be beneficial for athletic performance. It also reduces swelling and eliminates waste products like lactic acid. The increase in blood flow that results from massage therapy delivers more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, which helps them repair and regenerate faster.
In addition to the benefits of increased elasticity and nutrient delivery, sports massage techniques such as trigger pointing can help relieve pain from tight muscle fibres. This is achieved by massaging the area, which causes an autogenic inhibition, which means that the muscle fibres tense and contract, breaking down the excessive tension. This can be a huge benefit for athletes, especially when trying to reach their goals.
Another benefit of sports massage is that it can help with DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness). This condition occurs when the muscles are overworked, usually after a major workout or event. This is due to a combination of factors such as localised muscle spasm that restricts blood flow, and the build-up of metabolic waste products. Studies have shown that the effects of DOMS can be greatly reduced with regular massage, increasing the ability to train harder and more frequently.
A pre-event sports massage is a great way to prepare for a sporting event. This type of massage is performed in the days leading up to the event, and focuses on the areas that will be exercised. It warms up the muscles, boosts circulation, increases elasticity and eliminates toxins from the body. It can be helpful for both physical and mental preparation, allowing you to enter your event feeling relaxed and confident.
Many professional and amateur athletes rely on sports massage to prepare for an event, maintain their physical fitness and achieve their goals. This is because this type of massage is very effective at relieving sore and tense muscles, improving flexibility and range of motion and reducing the risk of injury. In fact, it is so useful that some teams even employ a full-time massage therapist to aid the team in training and recovery!
Increased Lymphatic Drainage
Sports massage manipulates soft tissue which consists of skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia (a form of connective tissue that lines and ensheathes other muscle tissues). The goal is to improve the performance of people engaged in regular physical activity.
When performing sports, the body experiences a lot of stress which results in micro-tears and the accumulation of metabolic waste products like lactic acid. These toxins make the muscles sore and stiff, slowing down movement. Regular sports massages help clear away these toxins and speed up the recovery of the muscles.
As a result, athletes can run faster and achieve better performance in the sport. Sports massage also increases the flexibility of muscles, allowing them to move more freely and reduces the risk of injury.
While longer, soothing strokes relax muscles, shorter, firmer cross-grain movements knead and dislodge knots and scar tissue. This increase in elasticity allows for freer movement of the muscle tissues and tendons.
This type of massage can increase lymphatic drainage and stimulate the femoral artery. This is a good thing for those suffering from lymphedema, which is when the tissues of the legs are swollen due to the build-up of lymph fluid. This is a condition that often affects breast cancer survivors, but it can be caused by any surgery or trauma to the body. Lymphatic drainage massage can help drain the fluid, reducing the swelling and restoring normal function to the arm and leg.
It can also boost the immune system and help with fibromyalgia, a condition that causes pain in the joints, limbs, and other parts of the body. Research suggests that fibromyalgia patients who have undergone manual lymphatic drainage massage show improved symptoms, such as fatigue and depression.
Athletes from all walks of life can benefit from sports massage. Amateur athletes put their bodies under the same strain as professional athletes and need to have the proper care to avoid injuries. Having a sports massage before and after events can help them perform at their best and also reduce the risk of injury.
Reduced Soreness
Sports massage is used to help alleviate and reduce the risk of injury by restoring proper muscular balance and joint flexibility. This helps to break down scar tissue, alleviates pain and encourages the reabsorption of fluids. It also helps in reducing swelling, increasing blood circulation and promotes the healing of microscopic tears in muscle fibres.
Injuries are a common occurrence for athletes as they constantly push their bodies to the limit in training drills and competitions. If a tight hamstring or calf muscle is not treated in time it can lead to debilitating injuries. Sports Massage is a perfect way of treating these injuries and helping the athlete recover.
The body’s natural waste products such as lactic acid build up within muscles during a workout. This is responsible for the delayed onset muscle soreness that results after an event or intense training session. Massage reduces delayed onset muscle soreness by stimulating the lymphatic system which results in an increase in the movement of lymph fluid through the body’s glandular structures. This movement of lymph picks up waste products and transports them back into the blood flow where they are then carried towards the body’s glands for removal from the body. Massage also decreases pain levels by relieving muscle tightness and tension, flushing the build-up of metabolic wastes and encouraging the healing of torn muscle fibres.
Many people experience discomfort and soreness after a massage, however this is normal if you aren’t used to receiving this type of manipulation on your muscles. The discomfort should not last more than a day after the treatment and can be easily managed by drinking plenty of water and resting the affected area.
Massage techniques such as effleurage and petrissage (kneading) encourage the soft tissues of the body to move naturally. These movements can help to break down adhesions and knots which are areas of muscle tissues that have become stuck due to repetitive or excessive movements. Adhesions and knots can often cause tightness and can restrict movement causing pain and discomfort. During a sports massage these adhesions and knots are broken down to allow the muscles, ligaments and tendons to function normally again.