The benefits of a sports massage

The intensity of an athlete’s training, injuries, and ailments are very frequent. This means that athletes often have to introduce visits to a physiotherapist or masseur into their routine. In this sense, sports massages are often a very good option. 

But you don’t need to be a professional to relieve pain from physical exercise, to prepare your body before a tough workout, or to recover after it. So today we’ll tell you what sports massage is and what its benefits are. 

What is a sports massage?

A sports massage is a set of massage techniques aimed at helping athletes in their physical activity before, during, and after exercise. The aim of sports massages is to improve sports performance, take care of muscles, and speed up recovery after training or sports injuries, which are also prevented.

There are several types of sports massage and depending on the one we choose, we will obtain different benefits. There are three main types: Pre-competition massage, recovery massage, and maintenance massage.

Benefits of sports massages

The benefits of a sports massage can be various and diverse depending on our needs and the type of massage we choose. In general, the benefits of sports massages are as follows:

• Increases muscle temperature
• Prepares the muscle for sporting activity
• Prevents injuries
• Relaxes the musculature
• Increases blood and lymphatic circulation
• Reduces muscle pain
• Provides a feeling of well-being
• Helps us to relax

Let’s see how and in which situations we will obtain some benefits or others.

Pre-competition massage

Pre-competition massage, as we can guess from its name, is carried out before intense training or a competition to prepare the muscles and tissues for this high-intensity exercise. It is a massage that warms up the muscle fibres, increases blood circulation, oxygenates, and provides flexibility to the muscles.

Recovery massage

The recovery massage is carried out just after a competition or training session and is aimed at recovering the tissues after intense exercise, in other words, it is a draining massage that helps the muscles to return to calm.  With this type of massage, we manage to speed up recovery, reduce inflammation, drain metabolic waste and, in general, soothe and relax the muscles.

Relaxation exercises before bedtime

Maintenance massage

This massage forms part of the regular training routine. For professional sportsmen and women or those who regularly engage in high-intensity physical activity, a maintenance massage is recommended once a week. 

In this way, injuries are prevented, muscle elasticity is maintained, and, in general, sportsmen and women feel better because they are relieved of the usual training aches and pains, they relax and it even helps them to sleep better.

In short, if a professional physiotherapist massages our muscles before, after, or regularly when we do sport, the risk of suffering injuries is considerably reduced. In other articles we have talked about the importance of introducing rest days into our sports routine so that our muscles and joints do not become fatigued and can recover as they need to. Similarly, sports massages should also form part of the sports routine because of the great benefits they bring us.

The most physically demanding sport

As we have already said, sports massages are not only for professional athletes, beginners can find in these massages the formula to not give up, sports enthusiasts who do physical activity very regularly will prevent injuries and pain and even help us to achieve our sporting goals. So, if you do sport, are going to compete in a competition, or would like a professional to supervise how your body reacts to your workouts… A sports massage is what you need!

Massage guns

Massage guns have become very popular over the past few years, they are a super efficient was to deep tissue massage.  We tried the Exogun and were very impressed with the product.

Massage guns can be very effective in reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and improving short term muscle length.  From recovery to leisurely use, massage guns work and will save a lot of money compared to paying for sports massages.

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