 Muscles feeling tight after your sports activity? Sports massage. Many of us whom have heard of it and to some who's even tried it, know from others that it is a form of deeeeep tissue massage which is painful. Is this type of massage painful? Let's breakdown the fundamentals of what makes a sports massage and why you should get it..or not. Definition of sports massage It's a form of massage targeted towards the recovery of muscle soreness, prior to a sporting event or to prevent injury, by increasing blood flow and promote freedom of muscle's movement. Usually, it's more utilised by people who are slightly more active in sports and athletics as it helps mostly with recovery and injury management/ preventative. Sports massage has three basic forms:
What can sports massage help with?
What can i expect during a typical sports massage session? As with any form of therapy, the session would usually have an assessment on your movements and questions about what you want to achieve which may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes depending on how complex your condition is. Typically, the session are anywhere from 30 minutes - 90 minutes, again depending on where you go and the therapist that is working on you, your goals, everything will usually be decided prior to the appointment. A form of emollient or oil is used to help with the techniques along the muscles. The therapist may use one or more of the following body parts to help achieve different depths of targeted tissue work and the positions for them to best leverage on your body parts:
Do i have to lose all my clothing for sports massage? Never. Sports massage is never Au Naturale', however, you usually would have to dress down to a sports gear and if anything, you dress down to what your comfort level is and allow your massage therapist to work on you. Sports massage can also be done to a slightly less effectiveness on clothing, but still reap the benefits of it. Main thing is, never allow yourself to feel uncomfortable during a massage whatever the reason is. Is it painful? The biggest myth to having a sports massage is "no pain, no gain" mentality. Pain is NOT an indicator of something leaving your body thus making it better or increase in efficacy. Pain is the CNS(central nervous system) screaming out loud that there is too much pressure and it is causing more harm than good. A slight discomfort is perfectly fine but pain where you have to twinge and hold it inside of you to just bite the bullet is NOT ok. If the therapist working on you insists on pain is good, you should tell him or her to read this article. Working with the body, is always working with the CNS, if the nervous system doesn't like what's happening to to the body, it will not allow any form of relaxation or release per se, in fact your body will produce more tension to ensure that it doesn't get injured , and, you will leave with nothing but a worse off body part that was suppose to recover or get better. Sports Massage Therapist credentials Most consumers don't really ask before they get a sports massage or any form of manual therapy for treatment. It's important to ask what their credentials are and where they trained and so on. Sports massage therapists need a strong understanding of anatomy and physiology as it is what drives the assessments and technique during the session. As for Singapore, massage therapy is not regulated, so it's more important for you as a consumer to ask their credentials. Certifications and qualifications are an achievement and the therapists are usually very proud of what they have studied and attained. One good way to check is you can start a conversation by asking "what do you practice for manual therapy?". If you don't want to ask, google will usually have more answers than what you need. Bottom line
Sports massage is a really great way to recover from soreness and other types of aches and pain, but since the industry is not regulating massage therapy in Singapore, every therapist will do it differently as they've had different schools / organisations to train with(so check the credentials or ask private investigator MR Google). If you have tried a sports massage and think it's too painful, find a therapist that works with your CNS instead of your body, if you haven't tried it but too scared, try talking to someone first to get acquainted to their style and ask if they do a trial session for 30 minutes. All the best and let us know where you get your sports massage from!?
8 Comments
12/28/2020 11:27:18 pm
Wow, I had no idea that a sports massage session can help you get rid of any muscle aches and aid in recovery for any of your injuries. I have a friend who's interested in trying out track and field so he can join a marathon. I'll share this with him so he could look for a sports massage expert for help! 9/18/2021 12:06:07 pm
I also got result from massage. I have Aches & pains in all the body but after message i get relief . 12/10/2021 08:36:38 pm
Great piece of content liked reading it. thank you for making me aware of such useful topic. gotta definitely share it with others. 1/27/2022 09:31:15 pm
While Searching related Sport massage came across your article found it really helpful and easy to understand. It really helped when you said that it is important to ask and see the credentials regarding what they were trained for. I will share this piece of information with my husband since he wanted to undergo sports massage this year. It's because he has been feeling this back pain for years now, and he thinks that it might have been due to the fall he had when he was playing basketball with friends before. 5/23/2022 09:55:18 pm
The article is brief and straightforward. People are still ignorant of this, but reading this will keep them up to date. 10/7/2022 01:55:14 pm
Thanks for pointing out that we should never feel uncomfortable when we are getting massage therapy. I will keep that in mind when I find a facility to go to this weekend to get my back treated due to the pain I've had for a week now. It will help me gauge if the experience is a great one and if I should go back to them, since it will be my first time as well. 3/1/2023 08:29:20 am
Great post! Sports massage is a type of massage therapy that is specifically designed for athletes and people who are physically active. It can help to relieve muscle tension, reduce inflammation, and improve flexibility and range of motion. While sports massage can be intense, it should not be painful. A skilled massage therapist will adjust the pressure and technique to your individual needs and preferences. It's important to communicate with your therapist throughout the session to ensure you are comfortable and receiving the maximum benefits from the massage. Overall, sports massage is a great way to help your body recover from physical activity and improve your overall performance. Leave a Reply. |
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