Massage therapy goes back thousands of years in cultures from China to Greece. However, it was not common in the United States until around 1850. Massage has since evolved into its own section of alternative medicine, with thousands of practitioners across the United States practicing types ranging from Swedish to deep tissue. Sports massage is another type commonly used for its benefits to athletes in sports like hockey, tennis, track and field, basketball and football.
Circulation
One of the primary benefits of any type of massage is the manipulation of blood flow that occurs with pressure and heat on the skin. This effect causes blood circulation to increase and encourages blood to flow toward the surface of the skin. Increased circulation allows greater supplies of oxygen and nutrition to reach the muscle tissues, which in turn increases how efficiently your body can create new energy to replace the energy used by your muscles while you play a sport. Increased circulation also helps remove from your muscles any toxins and byproducts of the energy creation process, reducing muscle soreness after the game is finished.
Injury Prevention
Sports massage is often used before sporting events to reduce risks for injury during play. Sports injuries are more likely to occur when your muscles are stiff due to inflexibility mixed with the intensity of the sport on the muscle and other connective tissue. The manipulation that occurs to the muscles during a sports massage helps loosen stiff muscle fibers and connective tissue, making them more flexible. The natural heat of the hands, as well as the use of sports massage techniques like friction, also heats up the muscle fibers, helping to relieve problems with stiffness.
Relaxation
Preevent sports massage can also provide the general benefit of relaxation before a competition. Massage has been shown to help reduce both state and trait anxiety, states the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Anxiety can develop or worsen before a large sporting event in some players, causing the muscles to tense and focus to deteriorate. Massage helps relieve these problems, helping prepare the player for the game.
Muscle Recovery
An injured player can make the difference between a win and a loss, especially when dealing with starting players. Postevent sports massage focuses on helping speed up muscle recovery and healing by increasing the flow of nutrients and oxygen through blood circulation. This can be done in as little as 10 to 20 minutes after a game has finished through massage motions like petrissage and compression. The faster the muscles and connective tissue recover, the sooner a player can be back in the game at full capacity.
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