Sports Massage Therapy
Hayley is a member of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine, and is a Sports Massage Association Gold practitioner – this qualifies her to work with anybody, including elite athletes. She has provided pre- and post event massage at several half-marathons, and marathon events across the UK, and has worked at international level with the British Team at the World Transplant Games. She was also selected to provide physiotherapy services at the London 2012 Olympics.
Sports massage therapy helps to reduce the stress and tension that can build up in the body’s soft tissues during physical activity. It is a process of management, manipulation and rehabilitation of soft tissues and can be used to produce the following effects:
Improve circulation and lymphatic flow
Assist in the removal of metabolic waste
Sedate or stimulate nerve endings
Increase or decrease muscle tone
Increase or decrease muscle length
Remodel scar tissue when required
Assist in mental preparation for sporting participation
A common misconception is that you have to be a keen sports person to benefit from sports massage. This is incorrect, as anybody can benefit from sports massage; including those in physically demanding jobs, or those who experience occupational and postural stresses e.g. those who spend considerable time at a computer, repetitive strain injuries or fatigue. The general idea is to use massage to facilitate the break down of minor lesions caused by overuse, in an effective and efficient way.
Sports massage is based on traditional Swedish massage, however it tends to be deeper and more intense. As physiotherapists practising sport massage we have the specialist knowledge and skills to integrate stretching, compression, friction and trigger point techniques into your treatments, as well as incorporating a tailor-made rehabilitation regimen that will reduce the risk of you encountering similar problems in the future.
Maintenance Massage
We can use our understanding of anatomy, biomechanical knowledge, and knowledge of the muscles used in your sport to design a regular massage treatment programme that is sport-specific. This will enable you to maintain and improve your range of motion and muscle flexibility, ensuring that you are at peak performance for when it matters most.
Event Massage
Pre-event massage can be used in conjunction with an athletes normal warm-up programme. It is used to enhance circulation and to reduce excess muscle, and mental tension prior to competition. It can be as relaxing or stimulating as the athlete requires.
Conversely, post-event massage aims to reduce the lactic acid and other metabolic build-ups that can occur after vigorous exercise, as well as helping to reduce muscle spasms that can be experienced in this situation; thereby enhancing the bodys natural recover process.
Rehabilitation
No matter what precautions you take muscle cramps, bruising, and muscle tears can still occur. We can use sports massage as an adjunct to our physiotherapy treatments to reduce the discomfort, and to speed up the healing of such injuries during the rehabilitation process. This can involve using trigger point techniques to reduce pain and spasm in the injured muscle, and cross-friction techniques to facilitate the formation of strong and flexible repair tissue.
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