Professional massage and bodywork combines physiological, therapeutic and psychological components. Choosing a type of massage therapy depends on what you expect to achieve from a massage, such as relaxation, pain relief, better athletic performance or recovery from an injury. With sports massage and clinical massage therapy, not only are the massage techniques different, but also the potential outcomes for the massage client.
Sports Massage
Sports massage therapists strive to improve an athlete's performance levels and to reduce the impact of an injury. The sports massage therapist could work on an fully clothed athlete before the sports event to boost blood flow and warm up muscles using brisk and stimulating strokes and techniques. Often, the athlete visualizes the upcoming game or competition while the massage is taking place. If an athlete gets injured during the event, sports massage therapists use their skills to expedite the healing process. After the event, more relaxing techniques may be applied to calm down the nervous system.
Clinical Massage
Clinical or medical massage therapy involves using treatments to cope with certain diseases, pain relief and recovery from injury. Clinical massage therapists normally work from a doctor's prescription or diagnostic report when treating a client's complaint and specific parts of the body. Depending on the malady, the manual therapy may integreate components from orthopedic medicine, physical therapy, chiropractic, medical acupuncture and anatomy -- specifically, the structure of the soft and connective tissues and the joints in the body. Manual techniques used by a clinical massage therapist range from those you may encounter during a regular therapeutic massage combined with deep tissue techniques to reduce tension in the soft tissue, muscles and joints.
What to Expect from Massage
A professional massage therapist should first ask you questions about your health and what you hope to accomplish with the massage session or series of sessions. The therapist will then take into account your medical history, existing areas of pain or tension, your overall physical condition, stress level and lifestyle considerations. From this information, the therapist can structure your massage so that you receive optimum results.
Massage Tips
Therapists mostly administer sports massages on clothed bodies. Clinical massage therapy may require removing clothing, but you will be under a sheet and sometimes a blanket and only the part of the body the therapist is working on will be exposed. Let the therapist know your level of comfort with disrobing. Often the therapist will use oils, lotions or creams on your body to facilitate ease in applying the massage techniques, so tell the therapist if you are allergic to specific ingredients or oils.
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