Why Do Athletes Need Massage?
Athletes need massage for two main reasons: to improve their performance and to help them recover from a hard workout. Massage therapists can help athletes stretch out tight muscles, increase blood flow, and reduce muscle soreness. By helping athletes stay loose and limber, massage therapists can help them reach their full potential on the field or in the gym.
What is a sports massage?
Sports massage is a type of massage that is used for muscles and the body as a whole. Both professional and amateur athletes use this type of massage. Many athletes believe they should always start and end any workout with a sports massage.
Before training, warming up your muscles and ligaments is an excellent way to prevent sports injuries. It will also help improve your performance. If you can’t warm up and stretch before training, doing this afterward is a good substitute.
Massage after working out helps to get rid of the increased muscle tone, normalize microcirculation, prevent soreness, and help quick recovery. It also provides psychological relaxation and stress relief.
During the massage, the therapist will use different techniques. The most common ones are effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (rhythmic tapping), and friction (rubbing).
The benefits of sports massage
There are many benefits to getting a sports massage. These include:
- Reducing muscle soreness
- Enhancing recovery from workouts
- Reducing inflammation
- Improving joint range of motion
- Speeding up the removal of lactic acid
- Stimulating the nervous system
- Improving circulation
- Reducing anxiety and depression
- Promoting relaxation
- Starting metabolism
- Eliminating toxins and excess fluid
- Improving flexibility
- Increasing blood flow
Whether you’re a professional athlete or an amateur, if you’re looking for ways to improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury, consider adding sports massage to your training regimen.
Catherine Medina is a content creator. She tries to promote a realistic, sustainable and positive image of how to lead a healthy life, whilst also maintaining the fact that life ain’t all fluffy clouds and rainbows. When she’s not writing or sitting on her arse scrolling through social media, she can be found running through muddy puddles, making lists of lists, having a good old moan, doing random searches and squatting like her life depends on it.
