| Many therapists offer Sports Massage on their | | | | principles utilized to achieve a specific goal when |
| "Massage Menu" yet few understand what Sports | | | | treating athletes". He considers that there are three |
| Massage is about. When a client comes in requesting | | | | principles that are vital to understanding what type of |
| a Sports Massage, some therapists merely react by | | | | Sports Massage to apply to an athlete at any given |
| going in deep. Sports Massage is so much more. | | | | time. These principles are: Timing |
| Whilst Sports Massage does have some aims in | | | | Technique and Intent |
| common with other forms of massage therapy, the | | | | The timing of Sports Massage is related to when the |
| usual experience in conventional massage is to aim to | | | | massage is applied, is it pre-event or post-event, |
| restore the normal function when someone is injured. | | | | during a maintenance period or possibly post-injury |
| But in sport there is no 'normal' and athletes are | | | | when rehabilitation is required. The technique refers |
| always looking to improve and gain a competitive | | | | to what massage/stretching/strengthening methods |
| edge. Most athletes aim to reach a level of | | | | the therapists employs to attempt to achieve the |
| performance they can never achieve. | | | | intent, the desired outcome. |
| A Sports Massage therapist has great potential to | | | | The intent of pre-event massage is to warm up the |
| assist the athlete to become better, rather than | | | | muscles and to get blood flowing through the |
| merely normal. In striving to be better, the athlete | | | | muscles. The massage techniques generally used are |
| attempts to systematically increase the level of | | | | petrissage, vibration, percussion, compression, muscle |
| training and thereby subjecting the body to gradual | | | | broadening strokes, etc. With post-event massage, |
| and controlled overuse. This overuse can often | | | | the intent is assist in the recovery process by |
| create imbalances and problems in the soft tissues, | | | | increasing venous and lymphatic circulation to assist |
| which if ignored may become chronic. Clearly this | | | | with removal of metabolic by-products and thereby |
| may hinder the athlete's performance and/or rate of | | | | decreasing muscle soreness so that the athlete can |
| improvement. Sports Massage can become a key | | | | return to full training faster. The massage techniques |
| ingredient in an athlete's success and this is why top | | | | would include effleurage, compression, petrissage, |
| competitors incorporate it as an integral part of their | | | | passive movements and light stretching. The intent |
| training regime. | | | | of maintenance massage is to keep the athletes |
| So what is Sports Massage? McGillicuddy(1) defines | | | | muscles and tissue in optimum condition and is |
| Sports Massage as "the specific application of | | | | generally scheduled at a regular frequency (be it |
| massage techniques, hydrotherapy protocols, range | | | | weekly or fortnightly), closely married to the athlete's |
| of motion/flexibility protocol and strength-training | | | | training program. |