Sports massage is very beneficial, especially for athletes. Sports massage can be received before-performance, after-performance, while training, or for rehabilitation. From beginners to professional athletes, it is a common choice. On this page, we will see what it is used for and what are the befits of doing sports massage.

Understanding Sports Massage

Sports massage is a manual manipulation of tissues of the body focusing on a specific muscle in context to a particular sport. Runner Paavo Nurmi is also known as the “Flying Finn,” was one of the early receivers of sports massage. Nurmi received sports massage during the 1924 Olympics in Paris where he proudly won five gold medals. Jack Meagher, is called the father of sports massage in the United States of America.

Many different methods and movements are used in sports massage. For example, Swedish style massage, stroking, kneading, friction, compression, rhythmic striking, gliding, vibration, stretching, percussion, and trigger points. These methods and movements help an athlete perform to his or her maximum capacity and also help in physical conditioning with reduced chances of injuries or pain and a quicker recovery.

Benefits of Sports Massage

Based on experiences and scientific observations, there are so many benefits of receiving a sports massage. Some of them are targeting to benefit the mind and some benefit body.

Some of the experienced and observed benefits of sports massage are

Increased range of motion (ROM)
The flexibility of the body and muscle increases
Increased sense of good health and well-being
Decreased muscle fatigue
Increased nerve relaxation
Decreased muscle spasms
Quality sleep

Other benefits of a sports massage but not supported by research include:

Massage opens up pores and increases the flow of blood
Increases ejection of exercise waste products
Reduces chances of injury
Reduces recovery time

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Side Effects of sports massage. There are no serious side effects of sports massage. Some athletes complained about tenderness and stiffness for just 1 to 2 days after beginning the sports massage. A skin reaction can be another side effect that can occur due to massage oil. But for most athletes, sports massage is safe.

According to researchers who study the effect of sports massage on fatigue and recovery, athletes reported less fatigued and felt better recovery or faster recovery from illness after sports massage. Reduced anxiety, stress-level, improved mood, better sleep, and increased feelings of well-being were some of the benefits reported by them. According to a large number of studies, sports massage reduces Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Look for the nearest massage bond street to experience various benefits of sports massage.

Some benefits of sports massage are not supported by research like the tendency of sports massage to help the muscles eliminate lactic acid is not supported by any study. Many scientists believe that this is linked to the fact that sports massage does not help to increase the flow of blood to muscles. For example, a study conducted in 2010 found that the blood flow was mechanically regulated by massage and that was a possible reason that resulted in the elimination of lactic acid from the body. Quicker recovery from illness after sports massage is not supported by any of the studies.

It looks like the positive mental (psychological) benefits of sports massage are backed by studies.

The study also states that sports massage does not harm performance, but the positive benefits on performance are still not clear.

Sports massage is highly recommended for athletes, even though some of its benefits are not backed by any research or study.

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