Sport massage involves a form of bodywork done to those participating in athletics with the aim of ensuring that injuries are prevented and also to make the body ready for the activity.
Before undertaking a sports massage, there are three principles involved, the timing, the technique and the intent of doing it.
The following are the reasons as to why one needs to do a sports massage Sports massage help in preventing injuries from occurring since injuries are a big threat as they may affect performance, lengthen the training time, they make one incur huge costs when treating them and may even cause permanent conditions when they recurrently occur in one’s body. The number of mitochondria in the body can be increased by applying deep tissue sports massage on one’s body and when they grow in number, they emit more energy and this energy may enable one to perform excellently. Sports massage also helps in improving moods, reducing anxiety, enhances one’s attention and also helps one have that feeling of pure relaxation. Sports massage are also influential in ensuring a faster rate of healing after an intense race.
Everyone has his own time on which he prefers to do massage; there are those that term it luxurious and they tend to do it at different times during training while other prefers during it before a race to stimulate their muscles and others prefer during it after the race for cooling down and recovery.
It is good that those that carry out that task know how to do it and the various styles they can apply. By the use of fingers or a thumb or knuckles, one may apply pressure on joints or various trigger points for a while to ensure that pain and stiffness of muscles is eliminated. The compression technique may also be used where one focuses on a particular muscle and uses both hands one being over the other and then presses it up and down with the hands going in opposite directions to loosen the tight muscles. Ones triceps or hamstrings may be held and shaken to ease muscle cramps and remove stiffness.
When choosing a sports massage therapist, consider if they listen to you, how long they take to get an appointment, the duration they have been practicing , whether they have any certifications or not, how far are they from you and finally the amount of money they charge.