You almost always see sports massage therapists at key running events. Why is that and how can it help pre and post event?
Let us get right into why sports massage can be beneficial before and after an event, before we get onto how it actually works.
Pre event: Leading up to a running event, it is a good idea to have a few sports massages to help mitigate the risk of injury. Areas in the body can be put under a lot of stress when running and become tense, leading to injuries.
Regular sports massages will help ease any tension by getting blood and oxygen flowing to the muscles which helps speed up healing and prevent injuries. We recommend that you do not get a sports massage within 3 days before your race, as they can make the muscles a bit tender after. We recommend that if it is your first, you book a few leading up to your event to build up a tolerance to it.
Post event: After a race, you will be quite sore with general muscle ache, so it is a good idea to get a sports massage. The therapist will do a lighter, but still effective massage, as your muscles will be too achy to tolerate a deep tissue massage. The post event massage will help flush out any toxins that have built up from high intensity activity, which will aid a speedy recovery. When you are not so sore, it is recommended to have a deeper tissue massage, to really help loosen up problematic areas.
How does sports massage work?
Massage therapy is the scientific manipulation of soft tissues. Sports massage is a form that utilises specific techniques to help obtain maximum performance and physical conditioning with less chance of injury. It increases power, endurance and flexibility. Massage aims to get different effects within the body, these include:
Chemical:
- Vasodilation: local blood flow
- Reduces toxins
- Decreases fibrous thickening
Mechanical:
- Increased venous flow
- Increased lymphatic flow
- Reduction in swelling
Reflex:
- Stimulates mechanoreceptors that moderate pain.
- Decreases blood pressure
Book in for a sports massage with one of our experienced sports massage therapists.
