Sports Massage and You

Types of Sports Massage

• pre-event
• post-event
• rehabilitation
• maintenance

Benefits of Sports Massage

• Removal of Toxins
• Promotes Healing
• Increased Flexibility
• Removes Scar Tissue
• Reduces Pain
• Aids Relaxation, Reduces Anxiety and Stress
• Improved Well Being

 

At JuShele, we offer various options to benefit You the Athlete:

1. Deep-Tissue Massage: focuses on problem areas of tension, helping to release toxins that make muscles sore.

2. Trigger Point Therapy releases the triggers limiting the range of motion which causes referred pain & stiffness

3. Sports Massage includes rigorous massaging strokes and passive assisted stretching to RELAX tightened muscles.

4. Neuromuscular Therapy restores elasticity in the muscle fibers by breaking up adhesions due to injuries or muscle strains.

In most cases, especially having started something new, the general aches and pains are due to a build up of lactic acid in the muscles. This is a natural by-product of energy production but without a proper warm down and massage it builds up and may take days before it is flushed out.

This is what causes those really stiff/sore muscles that you experience the next day after training, normally the calf and thigh being the worse. 

Massage is not just for remedial treatments, if applied properly it can be effective in preventing injury. Most people have a good warm-up and stretch before any physical activity (at least that is what they should do!) but some muscles really do need that extra help that cannot be achieved through normal exercises. 

Muscles like the glutes, hamstrings and quads can only be stretched properly through deep techniques applied by the therapist. And the Iliotibial band, a tendon that runs from the hip to the knee, can only really be stretched by deep longitudinal strokes using the heel of the palm. Stretching of this tendon has been known to increase the length of stride in runners, and anybody who has experienced it first hand never forgets they’ve had it done!  

If you’re after general body toning or if you want a specific problem treated, then Sports Massage is ideal. 

Many of the problems I treat are more from pulled muscles at work and repetitive muscle stress syndrome rather than on the field.  

Massage should not be looked at as just something you have on a pampering weekend or as a special treat. On a weekly basis it keeps the body healthy as it aids the detoxification process, speeds up the rate of blood and oxygen flow to the muscles and skin, helps give the muscles good tone (shape), and stimulates the production of serotonin which in turn gives an overall sense of well being.  

Subconsciously it also satisfies a need that has been with us since birth, that of human contact.