Contrary to popular belief, sports massage is not reserved for athletes and those who regularly partake in sporting activity. In fact, sports massage boasts a plethora of benefits for most people who suffer with various aches and pains – digging deep into the muscles and working them hard to alleviate tension and realign both the fibres of the muscles and the tissue that runs between them.
If you ask anyone who engages in regular sports massage therapy in Chelmsford, they will tell you that sports massage helps them to relax. By working tension out of the muscles, it facilitates a greater range of movement and can make even the stiffest of joints and the tensest of muscles feel more relaxed.
But sports massage isn’t just about the immediate benefits. Some of the most notable benefits are more long term, with this blog covering three of the top long term benefits of regular sports massage. So, here goes…
1. It promotes recovery after intense activity
Considered as much a proactive and preventative measure as a treatment option, sports massage helps to promote recovery after intense activity, while preparing the body for future activity. One of the best things about sports massage is that the deep and intense muscle manipulation helps to ease and work toxins out of the muscles, while also strengthening them for future use. Thus, the aim of sports massage is to prepare and train your body to support itself during activity, while also helping it to recover.
2. It eases the aches and pains of those who complete mundane but manual tasks
Sports massage isn’t just for athletes – it is also highly recommended for those who carry out repetitive and manual tasks as part of their work or daily routine. From a long term perspective, the increase in muscle and tissue flexibility that comes from regular sports massage facilitates not just more comfortable movement and motion but also better rest as a result. When the tension in your muscles is alleviated, your body is able to relax – which directly correlates to a decrease in stress and better sleep.
3. It reduces stress in the soft tissues during exercise
The third and final long benefit of sports massage brings us back around to the preventative benefits of massage therapy. When you engage in regular sports massage, the soft tissues throughout your body benefit from a reduction in stress and tension. This in turn means that the next time you engage in exercise, those soft tissues are less stressed – which means faster recovery and less discomfort after your next run or training workout.
Sports massage is as much about preventing future injury and strain as it is about combatting existing aches and pains. Working existing tension and toxins out of the muscles and soft tissues means that your body is prepped and ready for exercise, minimising the risk of injury and facilitating better relaxation and recovery.
To discuss the ways in which sports massage could benefit you, get in touch with your local therapist.
