Understanding Sports Massage Principles
by Staff
There are a lot of places that say they practice sports massage, but unfortunately many therapists lack the formal training to really understand how enhance performance, reduce injuries, assist in stretching, and help the body heal itself. At Omaha Blue Waves our staff specializes in medical and sports massage. Our owner, Michele Helaney, has spent the better portion of her life learning to understand the body. She is licensed in the State of Nebraska as a Massage Therapist, in the State of Ohio as a Limited Branch Medical Practitioner, she is both a National and State continuing education provider for LMT’s, a Certified Personal Trainer, and martial arts instructor. You can be assured that all of our staff are fully qualified to help you achieve your sports performance goals. If there is an issue beyond our scope, we have the resources to redirect you treatment you need.
As our staff was setting up this site, we came across a great basic article from Michael McGillicuddy on the Principles of Sports Massage. We hope you enjoy it. As this site continues to grow we well have more original and contributory articles for our readers!
Three Key Principles of Sports Massage
By Michael McGillicuddy, LMT, NCTMB
What Is Sports Massage?
I am always amazed when I travel around the country and ask massage therapists who advertise “sports massage” to define it. While visiting a spa in the Orlando, Fla., area, I saw sports massage listed on the spa menu.
I asked a therapist, “What do you do when someone asks for sports massage?” to which the therapist replied, “We do real deep work.”
I have attended numerous workshops in which the presenters explained that sports massage is massage that helps athletes perform better. Even providers of sports massage workshops differ in their philosophies regarding application and technique. I was lucky to learn from great instructors such as Benny Vaughn, Jack Meagher and Aaron Mattes early in my education, although, even after taking their workshops, I was not always clear on how to apply the concepts I had learned. At some point, you realize that no matter how many great teachers you have learned from, and no matter how workshops you have taken, know one knows it all. So, how do you decide what is right for you? I’ve always tried to listen to each presenter’s ideas, then set out to apply them in practice, to see if they worked for me. Some concepts worked; others didn’t.
Defining “Sports Massage”
Sports massage is the specific application of massage techniques, hydrotherapy protocols, range of motion/flexibility protocol and strength-training principles utilized to achieve a specific goal when treating an athlete. Notice my use of the phrase, “specific application … to achieve a specific goal.” So, how do you decide what application and goal is appropriate for a particular treatment?
Three Key Principles of Sports Massage
Three specific principles are vital to understanding what type of sports massage to apply to an athlete at any given time. I call these principles the “when, what and why” of sports massage: Timing, Technique and Intent.
Timing refers to when the massage is given: pre-event or post-event; during recovery; during a maintenance period; or when an athlete suffers an injury that requires rehabilitation. Technique refers to what application you utilize, and can include a number of different techniques: effleurage; friction; pettrisage; vibration; shaking; compression; broadening strokes; direct pressure; cross-fiber friction; range of motion; and stretching. Intent refers to your reason(s) for treatment: as warm-up; to increase blood flow; stimulate neurological pathways; aid recovery from exertion; increase flexibility; improve strength; or improve posture.
Let’s look at a few examples of how timing, technique and intent work. If you need to provide a pre-event massage, and the intent is to warm-up and increase blood flow, I would use techniques such as friction, compression, shaking and stretching. If you need to provide a post-event massage, and the intent is to aid recovery from exertion, I would use effleurage, pettrisage, compression, broadening strokes and range of motion. If you are working with an injured athlete, and your intent is to assist proper formation of scar tissue, I would use effleurage, compression and cross-fiber friction, followed by ice treatment and movement.
As you can probably tell, understanding sports massage is never as simple as learning one technique or type of modality … or just “working deep.” A sports massage therapist who understands the three key principles of sports massage should be able to apply the appropriate treatment at the appropriate time. Every sports massage therapist should ask himself or herself the following questions before beginning a session:
What is the intent of the massage I am about to provide?
What physiologic changes in the tissue am I trying to create?
What massage techniques are most efficient at creating such changes?
Follow-up with these self-questions after the session is completed:
Did I achieve the desired physiological change in the tissue?
Is the athlete satisfied with the treatment?
Mastering the application of sports massage takes years of education and experience, not to mention a love of athletics. No one modality, technique or approach works every time. It is the love of what you do, and the people you work with, that enable you to perfect your sports massage technique. I hope this information is helpful, and I hope you enjoy being a part of the massage therapy profession.
Published by: MassageToday.Com
