What is a Sports Massage (Deep Tissue Massage)?
A sports massage is targeting muscles that are used in a specific sport or focusing on tender areas that have been built up. It uses various techniques to decrease muscle pain and improve recovery, as well as improve overall range of motion and flexibility to support safe and effective movement.
Various movements and techniques are used to try to help a patients body to achieve maximum performance and physical conditioning, with a decreased chance of injury or pain and a quicker recovery.
Many sports massage benefits have been reported on the basis of experience and observation alone. These include:
- Increased joint range of motion
- Increased flexibility
- Decreased muscle tension
- Decreased neurological excitability (nerves more relaxed)
- Decreased muscle spasms
- Increased sense of well-being
- Decreased anxiety and improved mood
- Better sleep
Purported benefits for which there is limited research evidence include:
- Increased blood flow
- Increased elimination of exercise waste products (lactic acid)
- Decreased a chance of injury
- Decreased recovery time between workouts