WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SPORTS MASSAGE?

Regular massage will help you maintain a healthier body, prevent injuries, restore mobility to injured muscle tissue, and boost your performance.

Physical Benefits:

Released Trigger Points - Chronically contracted muscle tissue will squeeze blood out like a sponge, depriving the tissues of vital nutrients and energy to repair. The stroking movements in trigger point therapy create a vacuum that sucks blood through the blood vessels and lymph vessels carrying the much needed nutrients to the muscles and relaxing the muscle fibers.

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 fibers 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.

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.

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.

Physiological Benefits:

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. Regular massage can teach you to consciously recreate this state of relaxation in your daily life.

Psychological Benefits:

Relief of Anxiety - relaxation creates a sense of wellbeing and breaks the stress cycle which reduces anxiety levels.

Invigorating - if massage is done with brisk movements such as what would be done before an event, it can produce an invigorating feeling which boosts one's performance.