Part of a healthy lifestyle is exercise, and there are many forms of exercise, from a treadmill at the gym to playing basketball, which one can do. Safe exercise is essential for fitness enthusiasts, but even the most careful and knowledgeable can succumb to injury. For this reason, many sportsmen and sportswomen learn to search on Google: “What is Sports Massage?”.
There are many ways to get a sports injury, from not warming up correctly, falling prey to an accident, or simply pushing yourself too hard. For exercise enthusiasts recovering from sports injuries, it is often essential to stay off your feet, rest, and return to full function.
What is sports massage?
A sports massage therapist ensures your recovery is as swift and complete as possible. Offering care to all sports and recreational participants, a sports massage therapist can do much to help you maintain your body in the best shape possible.
This page explains how a sports massage practitioner can help you with your injury or rehabilitation needs.
Though commonly considered only for professional athletes, sports massage suits anyone suffering from a sport—or exercise-related injury. Distinct from the often linked physiotherapy, though they use some of the same massage techniques, sports massage focuses on injuries related to sports and similar activities and on getting people back into their favourite sporting pursuits.
How is sports massage different from other massages?
Using Sports Science, a trained therapist will use various methods, such as massage or myofascial release, to help treat and rehabilitate injuries. They will also offer support and advice on preventing injuries and getting the most out of your body.
The Society of Sports Therapists considers a sports therapist a professional with the training, skills, and experience to perform a range of tasks related to treating and preventing sports-related injuries.
This includes using sports and exercise principles to optimize performance, treating injuries, providing sports and remedial massage for sports and exercise-related issues, planning and implementing appropriate rehabilitation programs, and offering essential life support for recreation, training, and/or exercise contexts.
They should also be trained to refer patients to medical specialists when necessary for treatment.
Everyday sporting injuries
Sports can strain specific body parts, so if you play sports regularly, you can become prone to various types of injury. Though this does not diminish the health benefits of sports and exercise, being aware of common injuries is essential to avoid them more easily.
Suppose you feel any problems, from pain to joint stiffness, when exercising or participating in a sport or similar activity. In that case, having them checked out is a good idea so minor issues can be treated before they become significant problems. This list is so you can be aware of the more common sports injuries and what may lead to a risk of them happening.
Spine/Back Injuries
Though most of us will experience some form of back pain during our lives, spine injuries are some of the most potentially dangerous and lifestyle-threatening injuries that sports and exercise can cause. The most common sports-related back injuries are muscle strains and ligament sprains.
Though these injuries can be the result of some form of trauma, over-use and insufficient or poor stretching are more commonly the causes of back pain.
Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis are more serious injuries that are more common in people who participate in sports. They affect the vertebra pars interarticularis, a small part of the vertebra between the inferior and superior articular processes of the facet joint.
The second of these common injuries is the displacement of a vertebra about another/s. This form of injury is most common in sports requiring twisting, stretching, and hyperextension of the spine, including gymnastics or dance.
Feet/Ankles
Another common problem area for exercisers is the feet and ankles. Most commonly, this would be ankle sprains, which are more likely with people who do significant amounts of running and/or jumping. Turf toe is another common problem for those who participate in sports on artificial turf. This injury is characterized by pain at the base of the big toe. Breaks or fractures are rarer, but they can be caused by trauma or overuse of an injured area.
What is knee pain
Knee problems are widespread for many people at some point, but exercise can increase the risk of specific knee injuries. Many potential injuries create knee pain, and it is vital to find the underlying cause so future injury risk can be reduced, if at all possible.
Knee pain can be caused by arthritis, ligament and cartilage injuries, meniscal tears, tendonitis, and, especially in the case of trauma, a dislocated kneecap. Many of these require careful care; otherwise, permanent injury can occur.
What are hip injuries?
The hip joint is involved in many of our body’s movements, so it can be a common area for injury. These injuries are typically joint inflammation and muscle strains. Like many other injuries, they are usually caused by overexertion and trauma. Stress fractures are another potential issue. This injury is more common in high-impact sports, such as long-distance running.
What are wrist injuries?
If your sport requires wrist movement, such as tennis or basketball, wrist injuries can occur. These typically include strains, sprains, and tendonitis, but chronic disorders such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome can also cause problems.
What is elbow pain
Like wrists, sports requiring large amounts of arm movement can leave elbows prone to pain. Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is probably the most well-known. It is a condition causing pain in the outer joint that can also affect the sufferer’s ability to grip objects. Though linked to tennis, it is rarely caused by that sport.
Other common injuries to the elbow include fractures, usually from trauma, and nerve compression, typically radial tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. Like many other joint problems, untreated elbow pain can become a recurring problem, negatively affecting your ability to participate in sporting activities, as well as potentially causing long-term injury.
What are shoulder pain symptoms?
As a complex and almost constantly used body area, the shoulder, especially the rotary cuff, is prone to tears and tendonitis. Mobility issues are also common, with frozen shoulder, a stiffening of the joint that can severely impact mobility, and shoulder instability, where the joint becomes unsupported and prone to injury, particularly dislocations.
What can a sports massage therapist do for me?
Like any medical professional dealing with injuries and rehabilitation, a qualified sports massage London therapist will likely need several appointments to treat your injury fully. Each professional has their way of doing things but typically follows these steps.
Consultation
This initial consultation will include your medical history, lifestyle, and previous treatments for this and other injuries. Essentially, the sports massage therapist will get to know why you are there and any background that would affect your treatment.
With detailed information, your therapist can more efficiently treat you and tailor that treatment to your goals. This is a good time to become acquainted with your therapist and inquire about their experience and qualifications.
Assessment
After the initial consultation, the therapist can assess your injury and determine a suitable treatment plan. This assessment may include physical evaluations such as posture, functional movement, and ligament stability tests. If you have not yet gotten an official diagnosis from a doctor, you will typically be referred to one to get that official diagnosis. At this point, treatment can begin.
Sports massage treatments
Your sports massage therapist can start once a treatment plan has been agreed upon. The range of available treatments can be extensive, and most sports therapists take a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. If you have any questions about a particular treatment, bring it up with your therapist.
Massage Rehabilitation
This step is not always necessary for minor injuries, but depending on the severity of your problem, it may be required to achieve a full recovery. Rehabilitation aims to return you as close to your pre-injury movement, pain, and strength levels.
Your therapist should be able to offer advice and tips on how to manage your injury in daily life and provide forms for rehabilitation treatment.
Prehabilitation and injury prevention
This term refers to methods to keep you from suffering future injuries. Prehabilitation typically includes advice and exercises from your sports massage therapist to attempt to stop similar injuries in the future.
What treatments do remedial massage therapists use?
Sports massage therapists use several techniques to reduce pain and encourage recovery. While the treatments used are influenced by your history and the specific characteristics of your injury, several primary treatment methods include the following.
Sports massage and remedial massage are standard treatments from sports massage therapists. They can reduce the pain caused by training, increase muscle blood flow, and treat soft-tissue injuries.
Techniques
Mnumerous massage techniques are commonly used, including the following:
• Effleurage: Light massage strokes to loosen the muscles. This will typically be used at the beginning of a massage before more profound work is started.
• Petrissage: This technique, typically used to increase blood flow and loosen muscles, involves kneading soft tissue to remove knots.
• Tapotement: Used to kick-start the nervous system and encourage lymphatic drainage, this technique involves rhythmic movements, typically using the edge of the hand or fingertips.
• Neuromuscular techniques: Designed to stop pain caused by muscle spasms, this technique will use concentrated pressure on muscle areas.
• Positional release: This specialized technique involves the therapist locating a tender joint and moving it into a position where the pain and tension can be ‘released.’ This technique can also be used on tendons and ligaments.
Soft tissue mobilization
Another form of manual therapy, mobilization, is a method to help restore movement and address issues that reduce motion in injured joints. Lack of treatment for joint dysfunction can cause muscle spasms, pain, and fatigue. Mobilization typically involves the therapist gently moving the joint within the joint’s typical range of motion.
This form of therapy must be targeted and gently done; as such, only a qualified professional should attempt it.
Myofascial connective tissue release
Myofascial release, sometimes called soft tissue mobilization, releases tension in the fascia. The fascia is the sheets of fibrous tissue surrounding muscles and separating them into groups. Trauma causes the fascia to shorten, restricting movement and blood flow.
As such, myofascial release techniques attempt to break up adhesions and relax muscle tension, reducing pain and allowing a standard range of movement.
Electrotherapy
Some sports therapists use electrotherapy, which includes several treatments, including TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machines and laser treatment. TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machines transmit a small electric charge from a skin patch into the muscles. This form of therapy helps with specific types of injury and can be used with painkillers or, in some cases, instead of.
Hot/Cold treatment
Heat and cold treatments would be used. Heat treatments encourage healing and facilitate increased blood flow. Cold treatments (a type of cryotherapy that can include a range of treatments) involve using a cold compress on an injury to reduce inflammation and swelling. Heat treatments may ease the pain after the acute injury phase, usually 48-72 hours after the injury.
What should I look for in a sports massage therapist?
There are no legal regulations for sports massage therapists in the UK. However, several professional organizations are pushing to create these regulations, which are subject to change. Sadly, this means that there are no laws around what level of training or experience someone must have to be able to call themselves a sports massage therapist.
Massage Association
So, how can you make sure you are seeing a trained professional? Sports therapists can register with several voluntary regulatory bodies. These bodies (like the treatment available from professional therapists or the Complementary Natural Healthcare Council) necessitate a certain level of training for therapists and include a code of ethics and complaints procedures that members are bound to follow.
So, finding out about these organizations and whether the therapist you want to see is a member should be a priority for any potential patient. Checking for reviews and other word-of-mouth recommendations may also be helpful.
