Sports Massage

Massage involves different types of touch, pressure and flowing movements applied to the skin and underlying tissues to release muscular tension, relieve pain, facilitate healing from injury, alleviate stress, relax the body and enhance wellbeing.

Deep Tissue Massage

A medium to deep pressure massage, this treatment aims to alleviate restricted areas of muscular tension. Firm massage strokes encourage tension to be released from the body at a deeper level. A variety of techniques are used to stimulate blood flow, release muscular knots which cannot release on their own and promote healing.
It is an advanced form of massage that uses firm focused pressure to go beyond the surface layers of muscle.

When there is chronic muscle tension or injury, there are usually adhesions (bands of painful, rigid tissue) in muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Adhesions can block circulation and cause pain, limited movement, and inflammation.

Deep tissue massage works by physically breaking down these adhesions to relieve pain and restore normal movement.

Deep tissue massage usually focuses on a specific problem, such as chronic muscle pain, injury rehabilitation, and the following conditions:

• Lower back pain
• Limited mobility
• Recovery from injuries (e.g. whiplash, falls, sports injury)
• Repetitive strain injury, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
• Postural problems
• Muscle tension in the hamstrings, glutes, IT band, legs, quadriceps, rhomboids, upper back
• Osteoarthritis pain
• Sciatica
• Piriformis syndrome
• Tennis elbow
• Fibromyalgia
• Muscle tension or spasm
• After a workout
• Sports Massage

Sports massage is a form of deep tissue massage, and can be an energetic and invigorating treatment designed to help prepare individuals for intense exercise or to aid recovery after exercise. It is also a useful treatment for anyone suffering from chronic muscular pain, tension or a reduced range of movement. The treatment incorporates deep tissue massage strokes and specialised techniques to help tone and stretch damaged muscles, relieve swelling and tension and increase flexibility.

While occasional and brief discomfort may be experienced as deeper muscles are treated, sports massage is rarely painful and cannot damage tissue. Indeed deep massage can have dramatic effects in reducing chronic muscle pain and stiffness, thereby improving mobility and flexibility.

Professional sport has long recognised the benefits of deep tissue massage to treat soft tissue or muscle injuries, and to prepare for and recover from competition. However such massage is also an excellent way to deal with the soft tissue problems of our culture: longer hours sitting at a desk, lack of physical activity, or in some cases too much activity!

And just as you don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from sports massage, you don’t have to be young. As we age our muscles stiffen and become less flexible. Keeping active helps to maintain flexibility, and deep tissue massage can go a long way in helping mobility, working out the knots and scar tissue accumulated over the years, improving the flow of blood and oxygen and stimulating the nervous system.

So whether under- or over-active, young or old, keeping muscles and soft tissue healthy and flexible can lead to a greater quality of life.