Do you get the massage?

Do you get the massage?

19 August 2014

How many of us train week after week battering our bodies with physical exercise never stopping to think how we "service" the muscles, tendons, ligaments etc. that are constantly being used?

Would you drive your car for miles and miles without getting it serviced? I just got my car serviced this month as the service warning light had been on for a bit of time and I thought I had better not leave this!

One thing you can do however to look after your body at regular intervals is deep tissue sports massage.

Massage therapy is actually the simplest and oldest form of medicine. There are references to massage in Chinese medical literature dating back to 2,700 B.C.

You may be someone who trains or exercises regularly and may be succumbed to aches and pains or even injuries.

The effects of hard training and injuries can impair your muscular and physical development.

Deep tissue sports massage can combat the negative effects of the training regimen and might even help you gain greater muscle mass therefore developing a more proportional and symmetrical physique.

This may increase your competitiveness by enhancing your performance and helping you reach your physical potential and perhaps even improve your stage presence for competition if you are competitive - you are of course considering competing after reading my last blog entry! ;)

Advantages
Regular deep tissue sports massage therapy should be regarded as part and parcel of your dedication to living a healthy lifestyle.

Research has established that regular deep tissue massage therapy improves range of motion, reduces recovery time, increases muscle tone, and increases flexibility.

Whatever the ailment, or condition, sports massage therapy embodies the elementary concept that the body's soft tissues, muscle, fascia, tendons and ligaments respond to touch. Hence, the definition of "therapeutic massage" as the manipulation of the soft tissue structures of the body to prevent and alleviate pain, discomfort, muscle spasm, and stress to promote overall health and well being.

Advantages of deep tissue sports massage are:

Increased Range of Motion
Muscle tightness limits range of motion, and lifting with tight muscles can lead to injury. Massage stretches bundles of your muscle fibers lengthwise and sideways to improve tissue elasticity.

Deep tissue massage treatments help release tension and pressure by stretching the sheath or fascia around your muscles. Muscular scar tissue can promote inflexibility and increase your risk of injury and pain.

Massage can also restore mobility by breaking down scar tissue caused by overtraining, previous injuries or trauma.

Recovery
Muscles need recovery nutrients to repair damage and grow for bodybuilding. Massage speeds up your recovery time by increasing muscle tissue permeability and opening micro-circulation.

A deep massage increases tissue permeability by opening pores that enable fluids and nutrients to pass through more effectively. This removes waste products, such as lactic acid, that accumulate while training and inhibit muscular contraction.

Improved Muscle Tone
Deep tissue massage supports a well-defined physique by increasing circulation that improves your muscular tone. Damaged or tight muscle tissues do not hold blood well and diminish your muscle tone.

Your sports massage therapist may use a technique to move fluid through blood vessels and lymph nodes. This involves increasing the pressure at the front of the stroke to create a vacuum effect in your vessels. This improves muscle tone by helping damaged and tight tissues get nutrients required for growth and repair.

Sports Injury Prevention
A sports massage therapist who has studied sports therapy, physiotherapy or sports rehabilitation, can administer massages to treat or prevent injuries related to regular training.

Skilled sports massage therapists can identify and treat muscle tightness as well as trigger points and scar tissues that might increase your risk of injury.

Psychological
Receiving a massage before a bodybuilding or fitness event for example can improve your performance by enhancing your mental state.

A deep tissue sports massage can boost your level of confidence and diminish any accumulated stress that developed as a result of your training. Feeling confident and relaxed will reflect in your performance.

Conclusion
The benefits of deep tissue sports massage therapy are incalculable considering that massage literally affects every system in one's body. Aside from feeling good, research indicates that massage reduces stress, lowers heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases circulation, increases lymph flow, aids in elimination of toxins and increases endorphins, the body's natural pain killers.

I personally feel the benefits of regular deep tissue massage and there are many qualified therapists available.

I would highly recommend my own Sports Massage therapist at Sports Therapy NI where I receive regularly treatments and feel this has really helped me on my way to achieving my new healthy lifestyle.