What Is Sports Massage?

The vast majority of rehabilitation treatments at both our Orpington and Bromley will include sports massage or deep tissue massage. Sports massage is something that should be included in the life of an athlete, whether injured or not. It has both physical and psychological effects for the individual.

Deep tissue massage will increase blood flow, providing injured areas with important nutrients and substances required for healing. It will increase tissue permeability and provide a passive stretch of tight tissue increasing elasticity. Effective massage strokes can break down scar tissue, speeding recovery and reducing pain.

While providing many physical benefits, massage will also have a relaxation effect through heat generation, improved circulation and passive stretching. It will reduce anxiety through the release of endorphins.

Sports massage can be used before or after competition with different purposes. The appropriate technique can have either a stimulating or relaxing effect on muscle tissue.

We use the techniques of effleurage, petrissage, tapotement and friction as part of his treatments.

• Effleurage can be light or deep. Effleurage is a continuous stroke with a gliding motion. It is applied using the palm of the hand of forearm. Effleurage increases blood flow, generates heat and aids lymphatic drainage.

• Petrissage is a more concentrated deep tissue massage technique working into specific areas or muscle groups. The fingertips or knuckles are used to pick, roll and kneed the tissue.

• Tapotement involves the use of cupping and hacking. These are rhythmic, dynamic movements that stimulate muscles groups.

• Friction is a specific deep technique that is used to break down scar tissue and adhesions. It can be used on muscle tissue, ligaments, tendons and fascia. It often involves working against the fibre direction.

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The sports massage is a type of bodywork that is specifically designed to relieve muscle tightness, soreness, and pain. It relieves the tension in the muscles by stretching them, and it also helps to flush out toxins from the muscles.

Sports massage is different from traditional massage because it focuses on solving a problem. It is targeted and specific to problem causing tissues. Traditional massage focuses more on superficial layers of the body such as skin and muscles.