In my last article, I discussed what types of conditions massage therapy could help you to manage. An area of massage therapy that seems to be less well known is sport massage.
If you ask any massage therapist, they likely spent at least one class during their studies learning about how to apply massage techniques on athletes before and after sporting events and a number of hours practicing at local athletic events.
Sport massage is aimed at enhancing the athlete's performance by increasing circulation and stimulating muscles for activity prior to an event and by increasing the drainage of metabolic by-products after an event.
Sport Massage achieves several things for the athlete. Prior to competition, it allows the athlete time to mentally prepare for their event, employing positive imagery techniques or whatever their pre-event ritual entails. The therapist then targets the specific muscles and muscle groups that will be used during the event. Your therapist will ensure they understand the movements required by your sport, as well as the major muscles involved.
It’s important to increase circulation to those muscles and to stimulate neuromuscular communication (between your brain and your muscles) so that your muscles are more responsive during the event. A good working knowledge of what muscles you’re using and how will also ensure your therapist is able to assess whether or not the amount of tension in those muscles is appropriate for facilitating your sport or if it’s actually inhibiting your performance.
However, you shouldn’t have a therapist work to decrease the tone of your muscles for the first time, right before you compete. You have been training a certain way up until this point, so as long as there’s no perceived risk of injury, go and compete and then attempt to incorporate massage into your training regimen.
After your competition or event, the therapist will utilize the same working knowledge of your sport, as well as appropriate application of sport massage techniques, to facilitate healthy circulation and encourage the drainage of metabolic by-products, such as lactic acid. Post-event sport massage also helps to calm the "Fight or Flight" response the body has to competition.
Although sport massage can be introduced to an athlete's schedule at any point, it would be best done during the off-season when many other changes in training techniques are commonly implemented. As I mentioned before, making a drastic change right before or in the middle of a competition could leave you feeling like a “jellyfish” out there, unable to perform to your usual standard.
It becomes very apparent that when it comes to sport massage, as in competition, timing is everything!
Ryan Young, BHSc., RMT, PTS, SMT(cc) is a Registered Massage Therapist practicing at KD Physical Therapies Inc. – Medicine in Motion in Burnside and is currently pursuing his Sport Massage Therapist certification through the Canadian Sport Massage Therapists' Association (CSMTA). Young endeavors to provide athletes from grassroots to elite levels with professional sport massage treatment so as to maximize potential and facilitate optimal performance. He can be reached at KD Physical Therapies Inc. 468-2774 ext. 2.
