Helping Hands: The Health Benefits Of Massage

Whether you're a keen amateur or a seasoned professional, a sports injury can stop you in your tracks. Across the world sports people of all stripes rely on massage to treat the injuries they sustain when engaging in sport.

What causes sports injuries? 

Sports injuries are common in athletes, because the demands placed on sporting bodies are so much greater than what is required of most people in their day to day lives. Many sports injuries are simply related to overuse, the stress placed on the joints, bones and muscles and the broad range of movement that many athletes engage in. Sports injuries can also sometimes occur because the body is misaligned or because athletes are not using the safest techniques when placing stress on their bodies.

What is sports massage?  

Sports physiotherapists and massage therapists are experts in understanding the anatomy of the human body, the way the muscles contract and the complex ways in which bodily structures work together. These professionals use massage to treat a wide range of sports injuries and conditions and reduce the risk of recurrence.

What is sports massage used for?

There are many ways that sports massage can be used to treat sports injuries and sustain athletes' peak condition. Some common examples include:

Alleviating pain: Sports massage can be used to target an area of injury, reducing the pain experienced.

Aiding recovery: A professional sports masseuse will assist recovery after an injury by removing pressure and swelling around the site of an injury.

Pinpointing the cause of an injury: Sports massage can loosen tight muscles around an injured area that may have induced the injury to occur in the first place by pulling other areas of the body out of alignment.

Preventing further injury: Sports massage is also used to minimise the risk of further injuries by restoring the body to peak condition and alignment, and educating athletes about how to best take care of their bodies.

What will my massage therapist do?

Your therapist will begin by gaining a detailed understanding of your case, and the way your injury arose. Sometimes they will rely on scans or notes from your doctor, an exercise physiotherapist or other professional, and sometimes they will simply examine you and ask you to describe your case history.

Your therapist will use massage to alleviate your pain and correct any misalignment in your body and will take some time to educate you about ways to avoid future injuries.

If you love sports, massage is an effective way to treat sports injuries, keeping you in great shape and on the field longer.