Sports massage is an element of the athlete’s wellness. It is done to fight any symptom of overtraining and prevent the occurrence of any injury. It also improves your metabolism and enables you to relax. We discuss the Sports Massage Benefits And Types in this article.
Characteristics Of Sports Massages
Sports massage is dedicated to physically active people. Depending on the type, it is performed between competitions, and also just before undertaking heavy physical exertion.
It has many features in common with classic massage with healing properties. However, the basic difference between these two types of massage is that this sports massage is performed with the use of more strength and energy (therefore it is not always painless). It is an element of biological regeneration.
Sports massage is also similar to isometric massage, which aims to rebuild muscle mass and strength. Moreover, its task is to restore the athlete’s pre-injury fitness. It is also supposed to help him achieve the best sports results.
Sports Massage Types
As part of sports massage, the following sports massage types are distinguished:
- pre-, inter- and post – workout sports massage – in the first case it is used as an element of a warm-up before training, which prepares the athlete’s body to undertake a lot of physical effort, while in the second – during a break during the competition, to keep the muscles warm, and the last type – after intense exercise, so that the muscles regenerate faster;
- massage before the competition – its purpose is to strengthen and relax muscles at the same time, most often it is performed 2 days before the competition;
- restitution massage – it is used during the competition, its purpose is to relax muscles, improve blood circulation and accelerate metabolism ;
- conditioning massage – it is performed in free time from competitions, it serves to maintain the athlete’s good condition and maintain the flexibility of his body;
- training massage – it is performed about 5 hours after the end of training, then the masseur uses the technique of kneading the muscles.
The Course Of Sports Massage
How to prepare for a visit to the massage therapist’s office? First, you must cleanse the skin by having a shower or bath. If you have any wounds on the surface of the body, they must be cleaned and secured properly.
During the sports massage, the masseur uses various massage techniques, for example stroking, rubbing, kneading and tapping. The first one is to improve the work of the sweat and sebaceous glands. This technique is used at the beginning and end of the massage.
Grinding consists of making circular movements with your hands. It helps in stretching tendons and muscles. Makes the natural mobility of joints restored. Kneading is applied directly to the muscles. This technique is distinguished by a gradation of pressure. On the other hand, to relax the muscles of the entire body and dilate the blood vessels, the masseur performs tapping, chopping movements and clapping strokes.
How Long Should A Sports Massage Last?
The duration of sports massage depends on its type. For example, pre-exercise massage (part of warming up exercises) should not be longer than 10 minutes, while the inter-exercise massage – about a quarter of an hour. In turn, the training massage should last an hour.
The frequency of using a sports massage depends on such factors as gender, age, training level, type of sports discipline and the area of the body part being massaged. For sports massage benefits, its duration and intensity of stimuli should be gradually increased.
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