Sports Massage
Developed to assist muscle structures used for a specific sport, athletes use a variety of methods of preparation–before, during or after sporting events. Massages can be used to increase mobility and for injury prevention. Additionally, they can be used after a sports injury, which can speed up the overall healing process. Here are 14 tips that should be considered, before going to get a sports massage.
1. Understand the different types of massages
While there are a lot of different types of massages out there, it is important to have an objective when it comes to any kind of massage treatment. What are you trying to accomplish? Some massages might sound more interesting and exotic, but are they going to be the type of massage that you need to achieve your athletic goals? For athletes especially, the massages cannot always be the peaceful relaxing kind. In order to stretch tight muscles, lotion and relaxing smells will do nothing. So make sure that you are booking the kind of treatment that you need.
2. Be mindful in terms of scheduling
If you have a huge competition coming up, getting a massage that will throughy get into your tissue and make you extremely sore might not be the best idea. Make sure to plan to get it! It will help your overall performance! But make sure that it is not just a day or two before any large competition. You will want to be fully recovered from any treatment so you don’t start already tired.
3.Massages after competitions
In the post-competition treatment, however, massages can be extremely helpful. The tired muscles can now be rubbed out, so that the overall healing process takes less time. Professional competitors can have a massage within 48 hours of competition, but people who are not as used to the strain might want to wait 3 to 4 days to get their post-competition massage.
4. Who is treating you?
Like with any service you receive, make sure you know about your masseuse or therapist’s history. Are they qualified to be performing this massage? Does their institution have good ratings? Are customers satisfied? Treatments like this aren’t cheap, so making sure that if you are going down this path, that you have the best care possible is critical.
5. Pre-Appointment food
Like with more rigorous medical appointments, eating too much before seeing the doctor might not be a good idea. Apart from the physical discomfort of having to be in all kinds of positions during the session, massages relax the body. If you normally be digesting but now your functions are slowed down, you will feel very uncomfortable on a full stomach.
6. Adjust your expectation
You are not going to be relaxed. Sports massages are serious things in comparison to the traditional “massage” provided at spas. You are here for a specific reason: to have your body loosened. This will not happen with gentle rubbing of the skin. Expect to be poked, prodded, pulled, and pinched. It will help you in the long run with whatever athletic endeavor you are attempting, but don’t expect it to be a pampering session.