Sports Massage

Main Training Techiques Page	In recent times, athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike, are becoming more aware of the importance of massage. This is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. It's benefits include: Improvement in a persons range of motion when applied as a warm up or down technique either side of training or competition It can act as an aid to recovery between workouts and competitions, by helping the body eliminate the metabolic by-products of exercise. It is a good form of treatment for injury and rehabilitation after injury and probably most importantly Regular massage (ie weekly) can help prevent injury. A massage therapist can monitor any irregularities and/or stresses that develop in the body and treat them accordingly - especially as he becomes familiar with the athletes body. Massage is most beneficial after a hard training session or a competition and although two or three massages per week is common, once a week is normally perfectly adequate. It is advisable not to leave too long a gap between massages as the therapist will almost be going back to square one with every massage session. The regularity of advisable sessions with a therapist will vary according to the intensity of training. If you are only training 2-3 days a week then a little longer can pass between massages. It is also not advisable to have your first ever massage just before a competition. People respond to massage in different ways and it is best to discover how best it suits you during a training period. One note of precaution is that there are a few situations where massage may do more harm than good. However, this should not be for the athlete to worry about as any qualified massage therapist will know when they cannot help and you should be referred to another health professional. We have a directory of professional sports masseurs on the site. Click here to find out more about them. They should be able to get your legs in better shape for running.
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