Sports Injuries

Different massage has different aims. In all types of massage, the therapist has definite purposes in mind. In Sports massage, athlete’s individual needs are focused. With the growing competition and increased participation in sports, the sports massage has gained popularity because of its recovery property and performance enhancement.
 
Whether the sportsman or woman are injured or not, sports massage plays a vital role in their life. Massage can provide number of benefits either it is physically or mentally. The knowledge of muscular and skeletal system and the effects of exercise can help a sports person to understand the benefits of massage and can become an important part of the athlete’s training program.
 
Athletes gets themselves trained for the competition by enhancing their skills, strength, stamina, flexibility and speed. The aim of any sport is to increase the level of training and thereby restraining body to regular and controlled overuse. If the muscles are overused, they often create problems and imbalances in the soft tissues, and its ignorance leads to chronic pain thereby reducing athlete’s performance. If athletes are unable to perform at their best, the risk from other more traumatic forms of injury are increased.

Massage Techniques

Three main categories of massage used in sports are:-
 
• Effleurage – It is used at the start of the massage in which the whole palm of the hand and fingers are used with changing pressure according to purpose and stage of the massage.
 
• Petrissage – It is used on deeper tissues for mobilizing fluids, stretching muscle fibers, and encouraging relaxation.
 
• Friction – It is used for more painful movements aimed at breaking down lesions, separating muscle fibers, and even breaking down recent scar tissue.
 

Benefits of Sports Massage

The most effective therapy for relaxing muscle tension and reestablishing balance to the musculoskeletal system is massage. It helps athletes to prevent injuries, is it is taken on regular basis. Consistent activity may lead to constant accumulation of tension in the muscles which results in stresses on joints, ligaments, tendons, as well as the muscles themselves.
 
The various benefits of sports massage are:-

• Maintain the body generally in better condition.
• Prevent injuries and loss of mobility / flexibility.
• Cure and restore mobility to injured muscle tissue.
• Boost performance.
• Extend the overall life of your sporting career
• Increases tissue permeability
• It helps in stretching tissues that could not be stretched in the usual methods.
• It breaks down scar tissue which is the result of previous injuries or trauma and can affect muscle, tendons and ligaments.
• Massage helps in pain reduction by releasing the bodies’ endorphins.
• Muscles relax through heat generated, circulation and stretching.
• It helps in reducing anxiety levels.
• Massage increases blood flow to tissues by opening the blood vessels and by stretching them which enables nutrients to pass through more easily.