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.

For More Information download our free eBook ‘The Golden Rules of Sports Massage for Superior Performance’

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.

Triathlete and sports massage therapist Leanne shows you how to use the Aldrah Heath Pro Massager and Pads  – full of great tips and instructions on getting the best use out of the Massager.

In April 2011 Bodyfit Magazine published this in a feature about the Best Home Massagers to use..

..why thank you Bodyfit!

Tissue Salts are an excellent, safe and simple way to in essence ‘put back into the body what has been taken out’.

For example the body need certain basics elements to make the body work efficiently so if it does not get it by input (i.e. food and drink ) or the body’s supply it has been burned away by exercise or stress, it will leech it from other areas of the body.

E.g : If the body needs calcium and if doesn’t get it from food or drink it will leech if from the bones – (causing other problems in the future) more can be read about Tissue Salts Here.

However I have discovered a brilliant one for sporting muscle tension and cramps and it is Tissue Salt: Mag. phos

Its Function States : anti-spasmodic, ensures smooth movement of muscles.

Uses: cramps, spasms, relief from sharp pain, flatulence, headaches with shooting pain, low energy and neuralgia.

You usually take 4 every few hours or so – However a great tip to try – called a HOT 7  -  is this:

About half a hour before you go to bed  -  dissolve 10 tablets in warm but not boiling water, about half a cup will be fine. Drink slowly.

You will not only have a wonderful sleep but will also wake up feeling completely rested and with a significant amount of muscle tension and pain gone overnight.

Try using these simple and safe tissue salts in combination with other types of sports massage for maximum benefit.

They are very cheap to buy at around £5 per pot (about a months supply) – they can be purchased here:

Buy Tissue Salt: Mag. phos

Many people use waking as their main source of exercise. Walking is a brilliant form of exercise, but it can also cause muscle tension.

If you are a keen walker then you should also think about having a sports massage or doing some simple exercises on yourself.

Here’s why…

During and after a long walk your muscles can become knotted. This can often cause old injuries to flare up again, as these areas are the weakest parts of your body.

You should also pay attention to overuse injuries from too much repetitive activity.

This is where sports massage can give you tremendous benefits.

It will help to realign your body’s balance and posture (tension in the body means that you posture and balance will be thrown off).

As you are aware, poor balance and posture quickly leads to injury and it causes a reduction in performance levels.

The sports massage will work on the knots and tight areas in your body in order to massage out the knots.

This will remove the stress on your body (particularly in muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints).

A sports massage will also increase the blood flow and quickly rejuvenate aching muscles after a long walk.

Massaging will remove the lactic acid and toxins that naturally build up from exercise.

If you are a regular walker and want to continue without muscle stress and injury then pay attention to the flowing areas. These are the ones that get the most stress during any endurance walk:

• Hamstrings (back of the upper leg)

• Quadriceps (front of the thigh)

• Adductors (adducts the thigh at the front)

• Gastrocnemius (calf muscle)

• Knees

• Ankles

• Plantar fascia (thick connective tissue in the foot)

• Piriformis (buttocks area)

• Gluteals (major muscles of the buttocks)

• Iliopsoas (dorsal hip muscles)

It is also important to pay attention to your lower back during a long walk. This is an area that becomes stressed, as muscle imbalances in your body are present.

If you have lower back pain (even occasionally), you will find a great deal of benefit from a back massage.

Of course, the final thing to mention is that a foot massage is also a great idea. This will really relieve the aches and stress in your feet and gives them a fresh feeling right away.

Foot massages are very good for overall rejuvenation and considered important for organ functioning in Chinese medicine.

..Don’t forget if you do a lot of walking you can also use a powerful hand held massager for regular treatments on joints and muscles at home!

Appropriately our hand held massager is in the ‘Buzz’ section in Women’s Fitness this month!

Great simple diagram highlighting some common sporting Injuries, most injuries will heal quicker with a simple yet effective massage to increase circulation which in turn promotes healing.

Firstly, a sports massage is not just a rubdown.

In fact, a sports massage has an impact on almost every single major system in the body. This means that anyone can benefit from a sports massage.

Here’s something else that most people don’t realise…

Sport massages can be performed pre event, post event and inter-event.

The pre event massage will keep the person relaxed and prepared for the event.

The post event sports massage helps to flush out the excess waste produced in the body during the exercise or event. This alone greatly helps to reduce muscle soreness and stiffness.

Another misconception revolves around training.

Many people have been led to believe that the more you train the better you will become.

In many cases this is wrong. Muscles become harder as they are trained and therefore lose their elasticity and flexibility.

A sports massage will help your muscle tissues to stretch and ensure they receive the right nutrient blood flow that they need.

As you can see, there is far more to a sports massage than a simple rub.

So, if you want to gain the benefits listed above, then think about getting a sports massage in the near future.

If you want the same benefits without seeing a therapist, you can use this powerful hand held massager on a regular basis.

All the best

Paul

This is great news if you go to the gym, play golf, football or even just enjoy hiking.

Those little niggles, aches and pains can quickly turn into painful joints or sore muscles if they are not dealt with.

However, you can avoid this happening with a simple sports massage.

There are many benefits to having a sports massage. They are known to prevent injuries as the massage will release muscle tension and help to reduce any muscle imbalances in the body.

The small problems arise in the body through exercise and general wear and tear. If you have ever noticed any of the following….

- Flexibility issues

- Muscle stiffness

- Chronic pain

- Reduce joint motion

…then a sports massage can help you before these things turn into more serious injuries.

That’s right, you can prevent injuries from occurring because the massage will induce relaxation in the soft tissues.

It will then stretch the muscle fibres and draw more oxygen and nutrients into the muscle. This happens as the massage strokes increase blood circulation in the areas that are treated.

As you can see there are plenty of benefits to a sports massage. As we all know, the one thing that everyone wants to avoid is injuries.

You can increase your health, performance and flexibility with a sports massage but one of the best benefits is in preventing injuries.

What’s more you don’t have to see a sport massage therapist.

You can gain the same benefits at home with a Aldrah Health Pro Sports Hand Held Massager.

All the best,

Paul