Sports Massage
Massage is defined as the systematic manipulation of the soft tissue of the body. The movements of gliding, compressing, stretching, percussing, and vibrating are regulated to produce specific responses in the athlete. Historically, wherever sports have been taken seriously, massage has been used in some form. Today sports massage is gaining popularity (more…)
Defintion of Sports Massage
“I recommend massage to athletes of all levels of ability. It will not only improve performance but also will speed up recovery time and reduce the number of muscle injuries. All this will result in making your sport more fun, which is really what it’s all about anyway.” MARY DECKER-SLANEY
Fibrosis
Everybody has experienced aching sore legs associated with hard training and/or racing. It is often accompanied with one area that is particularly sensitive, and may also be associated with a palpable lump or ‘knot’. This is fibrosis, an inflammatory response of the muscle tissue. Its cause may be a product of a muscle injury, but the result is always the same – a muscle that is no longer able to function properly. (Each muscle fibre needs to move freely within its sheath for it to function at maximum power and mobility.) The resultant fatigue and pain causes the spasm to spread. This is termed the pain-spasm cycle. Massage, especially deep strokes and cross-fibre strokes ‘spread’ the tissue, smoothing out the knots whilst increasing blood circulation. This is often the only way to break the pain-spasm cycle. (more…)
