There are a number of different massage forms and sports massage is a form more geared towards the athlete. It helps to prepare the athlete for physical activity and also assists in the prevention of injuries. In fact a number of athletes have attributed massage for their performances and longevity.
When a professional athlete tears a muscle or similar, it makes news. But anyone who plays sport can be injured and the most vulnerable are children and adolescents, middle-aged athletes and women. Anyone playing sports should do some stretching and warm up exercised. Its amazing how many people know they should but just don?t for various reasons. These people may be lucky and nothing happens but when it does it?s big time resulting in pain and quite some time on the sidelines.
Some tips for preventing injury are:
- avoid bending knees past 90 degrees when doing half knee bends.
- if jumping, land with your knees bent.
- Do warm-up exercises not just before vigorous exercises, but also less vigorous exercises like golf.
- Don?t overdo it.
- Do warm-up stretches before activities and give yourself a good massage as this will increase circulation as well as loosen any tight muscles.
- Cool down following vigorous sport by walking or jogging for five minutes so your pulse comes down gradually.
- Make sure that you wear proper fitting shoes, which provide stability and shock absorption.
Whenever you exercise heavily small amounts of swelling occur in the muscle because of tiny tears. Therefore, massage after your event will help reduce the swelling, loosen tired, stiff muscles, help maintain flexibility, promotes circulation and thus more oxygen to the muscle and helps to remove waste such as lactic acid. Massage will help speed up recovery time and alleviates any soreness.
Conditions, which in general respond well with massage, are: muscle pain and stiffness, strains, sprains, repetitive strain injuries, sore spots and muscle tension. It should be noted that even though massage will help certain sports injuries to heal one should also seek medical advice as some injuries may need to be immobilized. Sports massage is safe and effective and if performed correctly should have no side effects
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