Sports massage was original designed and used for elite athletes. However, anyone can use and really benefit from it.

For example, if you play sports in any capacity and have noticed any of the following it can help you:

• Flexibility issues
• Range of motion issues
• Muscle stiffness
• Aching muscles following sport
• Chronic pain
• Injury

The reason that sports massage is so successful for so many people is that it was developed to help athletes in the following ways:

• Get them ready for optimal performance
• Help them to recover faster after performance
• Improve function and performance during training

A sports massage is very important as part of the athletes training program. This is as important as warming up or cooling down before or after intense training.

Sports massage can help to remove the aches and pains that are built up over time. This is true for professional athletes and members of the public.

If you are engaged in any sports or recreational activity, then you can benefit from a sports massage.

What’s more, you don’t need to visit a professional all the time. You can learn to practice a self-massage.

You don’t need to accept aches and pains and suffer. Either you or the therapist can use their hands (or instruments) to find these muscular problems and then deal with them. This will improve your performance (if you are involved in any sport) and it will also improve your overall health.

This is because a sports massage will reduce the risk of injury and increase the range of motion in your joints.

If you have muscular imbalances, then these things can also be corrected with both sports massage and the correct strengthening exercises.

Besides these obvious benefits, a sports massage will also increase your flexibility, remove tension and stress, remove swelling and remove fatigue.

Many people feel a new sense of energy when they finish having their sports massage.

Massage works alongside the natural healing process in the body.

This occurs because a massage will increase the blood flow to certain areas of the body. This means that any problems or injuries can be quickly recovered from by manipulating the flow of blood to vital tissues.

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Therapeutic sports massage is a certain type of massage technique that deals with issues relating to soft tissue aches, pains and injuries.

These things are all related to recreational activities.

In these circumstances, massage can reduce muscle stiffness and also reduce the heart rate and blood pressure.

This has the effect of producing a relaxing effect on the patient.

Therapeutic sports massage is performed by applying pressure to the soft tissues. This results in an increase in joint motion, decrease in muscle stiffness and improved muscle flexibility.

Following the massage you will experience the following:

•    A feeling of total relaxation
•    An improved general mood
•    A reduction in any stress that you had
•    Reduced anxiety
•    Other physiological benefits

As you can see, a therapeutic sports massage has more than just physical benefits. It will also give you an improvement in attitude and outlook on your life.

Massage is defined as the systematic manipulation of the soft tissues in the human body. It is a natural therapy that principally treats musculoskeletal problems.

By treating the soft tissues, it gives a curative effect to the body as the soft tissues are made more pliable and blood circulation is improved.

As the soft tissues are made more pliable and the blood flow increases, the healing benefits on the body are also increased.

These benefits include both physical and psychological changes that improve general well being.

How are the massage benefits applied?

The massage benefits are brought about when the massage therapist uses their hands to apply systematic pressure on your body.

There are a number of different techniques involved in a massage.

There are also many different strokes that can be used. These will depend on the patient, the health of the patient, the situation and so on.

Some of the most common therapist techniques are:

1. Effleurage – this is a gliding stroke using with the palms, fingertips and thumbs. This technique is generally used at the beginning and end of a sports massage.

2. Petrissage – here you use the hands with a kneading movement. You use the fingers and the thumbs on the deeper tissues.

This helps to bring about relaxation and stretch the muscle fibres and mobilize fluids.

3. Friction – this is done with circular pressure, using the palms, thumbs and fingers. This is really used to find the more serious issues located in the deeper tissues.

The strokes will break down lesions and recent scar tissue. This stroke can also separate muscle fibres.

Only use this stroke for short periods of time as it can cause irritation and inflammation if over used.

If you see a sports massage therapist you will understand the different strokes in more detail. You will also be able use these on yourself.

Some of the massage strokes can also be done with an electric massager, which makes the softer strokes much easier to perform.