Sports Massage

Many people question whether massage therapy, or massage in general, is benefitial. Massage therapy has many benefits and is particularily useful
for athletes.

Massage therapy can be defined as the systematic manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. It is used as a relaxation technique as well as an aid in recovery from sporting events or injuries and is often used along with other medical treatments such as physical therapy and rehab. Benefits of massage include a reduction in muscle soreness and tension, improvements in range of motion, increased circulation of blood and lymph fluids, as well as positive psychological responses. Historically, wherever sporting events have been seriously participated in, massage has been used in some form or another(Prentice, 421), and is becoming increasingly more popular. While there are several types and variances of massage, I will be focusing specifically on sports massage.

Sports massage uses a variety of massage strokes, including deep compressions and slow, penetrating strokes. Sports massage focuses on specific pressure points and muscles in order to alleviate soreness and tension. Sports massage is used in order to prevent injuries and aids in treating existing injuries. This type of therapy helps the athlete maintain optimum fitness and speeds recovery from overuse traumas and other acute or chronic injuries (Canyon).

Massage serves to reduce muscle soreness and tension in that movements of the hand on the body encourage venous and lymphatic drainage resulting in increased metabolism to musculature and removal of lactic acid and other toxins. The healing process is aided in this way and can serve to prevent some soreness or tightness in the muscle and can speed up the recovery time between workouts. Graded pressure and friction massage serves to stretch superficial, scar and connective tissues, which helps to prevent rigidity in scar formation. In this way massage helps the body recover from overuse as well. Muscles relax when heat is generated, along with stretching and increased circulation. Mechanoreceptors which sense touch, pressure, tissue length and warmth are then stimulated causing a relaxation reflex (Sports Injury Clinic). This enables tight muscles to relax, therefore, reducing tension.

Massage can allow for improvements in the range of motion of joints and can help to prevent stiffness in joints after an injury. When an athlete is forced to remain inactive due to an injury or when edema surrounds a joint, the stagnation of circulation may be prevented by massage (Prentice 421). Since massage serves to stretch or loosen scar tissue, range of motion in joints is impacted. In a small, randomized study of 68 adults with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers at the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, found that subjects who received regular hour long massage therapy treatments had improved flexibility and range of motion and less pain within 8 weeks of beginning treatment (Archer).

Massage improves the circulation of blood and lymph fluids. It encourages venous and lymphatic drainage and helps to overcome venostasis and edema by increasing circulation and assisting in the normal venous blood return to the heart (Prentice 421). Increased circulation is accomplished by mechanical and reflex stimuli. This causes the capillaries to dilate and be drained of fluid as a result of firm pressure, therefore, increasing lymphatic and venous circulation (Prentice 422).

Since humans respond psychologically to being touched, massage serves to produce a positive psychological response. Massage engages the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxes the athlete (Canyon) and can reduce performance anxiety when performed before an event. Massage can be quite therapeutic psychologically and when performed effectively can be very invigorating for the athlete. Massage therapy can be a great stress reliever and gives the athlete time to wind down, relax and consciously allow their tension to be released. Athletes will often seek massage treatments simply as a means of relaxation even when an injury is not present, or when they are not in rehabilitation.

Sports massage can be quite beneficial to athletes and serves to provide many positive outcomes. While everyone responds differently to massage, the most common benefits of reduced muscle soreness, increased blood and lymph circulation and overall relaxation are achieved more often than not. The increasing popularity of massage therapy can be seen as evidence that the practice does work. If in doubt, you can always try it for yourself and see!

References
Archer, Shirley. "Massage Reduces Arthritis Pain". IDEA Fitness Journal. April 2007. p89.

Canyon, Colleen. "Alternative Therapies for Athletes: Why Professional Athletes and Weekend Warriors are Embracing Acupuncture and Massage Therapy". IDEA Health and Fitness. May 2004. p40.

Prentice, William E. Arnheim's Principles of Athletic Training. McGraw Hill: New York, NY.

www.Sportsinjuryclinic.net. "Sports Massage - Benefits and Effects".