Sports Recovery Massage - Types, Techniques

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Sports massage

To increase the physical endurance of athletes, relieve fatigue, raise the general tone, eliminate the consequences of injuries, a special massage technique is used - sports massage.

Sports massage is considered an important component of athletes training and preparation for competition.

What distinguishes sports massage from other types of massage is that it involves such an effect on the muscles, joints and skin of a person, which is able to restore their functionality in a short time.

Such a massage stimulates the work of the sebaceous and sweat glands, metabolism, skin respiration, improves blood circulation and skin nutrition.

Due to the fact that during sports massage the supply of oxygen and nutrients to tissues is improved, muscle performance is increased.

The development of joints during the massage helps to improve their mobility, to restore them after injuries.

It has been noticed that with the regular performance of sports massage, the work of the heart improves, the walls of the vessels become toned.

More about sports massage types

Depending on the technique of impact on tissues, joints and muscles, sports massage can be preliminary, training, restorative.

A preliminary sports massage is carried out before a competition or training, 10-20 minutes before warm-up. The main purpose of the massage is to warm up the muscles. The preliminary sports massage lasts 5-20 minutes.

During the massage, the following techniques are used: "squeezing", "shaking", "rubbing" and "kneading". In this case, "shaking" is done after each dose to relax the muscles more and help the blood flow to better distribute throughout the body.

To increase the effectiveness of the massage, it is necessary to start performing physical exercises within 3-5 minutes after the procedure.

Training massage is designed to maintain muscle tone, affect those muscle groups that bear the main load, to increase the endurance and performance of an athlete, reduce the time to acquire the necessary sports form. The training sports massage lasts an hour on average.

Particular attention should be paid to the time of the training massage - it can be done no earlier than 1-1.5 hours after an intense load. One or two days before the start of the competition, the last massage session will take place.

A good effect is provided by a weekly exercise sports massage in a bath - it is noticed that under the action of steam, blood flow improves, muscle tension is relieved, the skin becomes more pliable, which significantly increases the effectiveness of the massage.

The training massage technique is selected individually, but more than half of the time is devoted to kneading. This type of sports massage is considered the most effective among the rest.

Sports recovery massage is carried out after training or during the recovery period after injuries: fractures, sprains, dislocations, bruises, injuries of muscles, tendons, etc.

Thanks to the revitalizing massage, the athlete can effortlessly proceed to the next stage of the workout or return to work after a long break.

The duration of the restorative massage is set by the masseur himself, depending on the intensity of training, the emotional state of a person, his individual physiological characteristics. On average, a session lasts 8-12 minutes. Sports rehabilitation massage is performed only 10-20 minutes after training - the athlete's pulse and breathing should return to normal.

If the task is to help the athlete recover from injuries, massage can be carried out using anti-inflammatory, local anesthetic drugs.

Found a mistake in the text? Select it and press Ctrl + Enter.