What Do They Do In A Sports Massage?
The joy of sports massages is that it is not like other, more traditional massages. While at other massages one goes in, and the massage is already predetermined, sports massages are meant to specifically cater to whomever is receiving it. The number of times ones would need to have a sports massage performed on them also depends on whomever is receiving the massage. Are you a professional athlete going to 6 hours of practice a day? Are you a weekend warrior, trying to stay in shape with intense workouts but just on the weekends? Or are you a casual athlete, just trying to stay in enough shape so you can feel confident doing daily activities? No matter your personal goals, the sports massage can help you!
Before getting a massage, it is important to open the lines of communication. Telling your therapist what your goals are will be important. Since this type of massage is so versatile, a one size fits all approach is not going to work. If you assume that your therapist will know exactly what you are looking for based on your body type, what kind of shape you’re in, etc. would be a mistake. As with all healthcare facilities, it is crucial to keep communication open and honest. Before you go in to have a massage done, make sure that you have communicated with the therapist themselves. While they might have asked you before you came in what your goals are, more than likely it was written down by support staff. Was it seen specifically by your therapist, though? Make sure, especially if you are doing this for the first time, to greet your therapist when they come in and go over what you are trying to achieve, in regards to your physical activity and health. This will also help them plan for your massage plan as well (how often you will be needed massages).
The next thing to consider will be what to wear to a massage. In the movies it seems that people are almost always without clothes. Is that an accurate representation of how your massage will be? It will partly depend on your therapist, but most of them will look to you. Again, it will mostly depend on what you are trying to achieve, and what you will be comfortable with. If you are going in as a more casual athlete and just want more of a through stretch, then loose fitting clothes is fine. However if you are a professional athlete and need to have those tendons really dug at, then you might need to use the sheet, since clothes will affect the depth at which the therapist will be able to reach.