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WHAT IS THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE?
(and everything you need to know about massage)
Therapeutic massage increasingly is being prescribed
by physicians to complement traditional medical treatment
for illness, injury and pain as a growing body of
research documents its efficiency. Massage doesn't
just feel good. It reduces the heart rate and blood
pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow,
reduces muscle tension/spasm, improves range of motion,
and helps relieve pain and enhance the healing cycle
after injury.
Therapeutic massage involves manipulation of the
soft tissue structures of the body. It soothes and
calms, aids in stress reduction, and it may improve
the rate at which the body recovers from injury and
illness. Work at the Research Institute of the University
of Miami School of Medicine have measured the body's
biochemical levels after massage therapy and found
dramatic changes in the levels of cortisol, epinephrine
and dopamine. Research also has measured changes in
levels of endorphins and serotonin after sports massage,
which may reduce pain and contribute to reduced levels
of delayed onset muscle soreness.
Sports Massage Techniques
Each sport and athletic event uses muscle groups
in a different way. Sports massage therapists are
familiar with each muscle, the muscle groups and how
they are affected by the specific movements and stresses
of each sport. They also are trained in the appropriate
uses of hydrotherapy and cryotherapy. Sports massage
therapy is often based on Swedish massage and frequently
includes the use of one or more of the following techniques:
- Deep Swedish Massage
Muscle-specific applications of the standard effleurage,
petrissage, vibration, and tapotement techniques.
- Compression Massage
Rhythmic compression into muscles used to create
a deep hyperaemia and softening effect in the tissues.
It is generally used as a warm-up for deeper, more
specific massage work.
- Cross-Fibre Massage
Friction techniques applied in a general manner
to create a stretching and broadening effect in
large muscle groups; or on site-specific muscle
and connective tissue, deep transverse friction
applied to reduce adhesions and to help create strong,
flexible repair during the healing process.
- Trigger Point Massage
Combined positioning and specific finger or thumb
pressure into trigger/tender points in muscle and
connective tissue, to reduce the hypersensitivity,
muscle spasms and referred pain patterns that characterise
the point. Left untreated, such trigger/tender points
often lead to restricted and painful movement of
entire body regions.
- Lymphatic Massage
Stimulation of specialised lymphatic-drainage pathways,
which improves the body's removal of oedemas and
effusion.
Regular sports massage can:
- Reduce the chance of injury by relieving stress
points in muscles before they result in restrictions
or spasm.
- Improve range of motion and muscle flexibility
resulting in improved power and performance.
- Shorten recovery time between workouts.
- Maximise the supply of nutrients and oxygen through
increased blood flow.
- Facilitate the body's regular processes for recovery
from exercise.
- Decrease performance anxiety and sharpen mental
focus.
Three Areas of Sport Massage
Athletic trainers know that keeping an athlete in
top physical form requires a regular prevention and
maintenance program, as well as on-site treatment
before and after an athletic event. And, when strains,
sprains, bruises or other major injuries occur, a
variety of treatment modalities may be necessary to
speed healing and reduce discomfort. Sports massage
therapy can help in all of these areas.
Maintenance Massage
An effective maintenance program is based on the massage
therapist's understanding of anatomy and kinesiology,
combined with an expert knowledge of which muscles
are used in a given sport and which are likely candidates
for trouble. By zeroing in on particular muscle groups
and working specific tissues, the sports massage therapist
helps the athlete maintain or improve range of motion
and muscle flexibility. The overall objective of a
maintenance program is to help the athlete reach optimal
performance through injury-free training.
Pre and Post Event Massage
Pre and post-event massage therapy are tailored for
distinct purposes.
Pre-event massage is used as a supplement to
an athlete's warm-up to enhance circulation and reduce
excess muscle and mental tension prior to competition.
It also improves tissue pliability, readying the athlete
for top performance.
Post-event massage on the other hand, is geared
toward reducing the muscle spasms and metabolic build-up
that occur with vigorous exercise. Various sports
massage techniques enhance the body's own recovery
process, improving the athlete's return to high-level
training and competition, and reducing the risk of
injury.
Rehabilitation Massage
Even with maintenance massage, muscles may cramp,
tear, bruise and ache. Sports massage can speed healing
and reduce discomfort during the rehabilitation process.
Soft tissue techniques employed by sports massage
therapists are effective in the management of both
acute and chronic injuries. For example, adding lymphatic
massage to the "standard care" procedure
in the acute stage of injury will improve control
of secondary oedema formation and enhance lymphatic
uptake of fluid throughout the healing cycle. Trigger
point techniques reduce the spasms and pain that occur,
both in the injured and "compensation" muscles.
Cross-fibre friction techniques applied during the
sub acute and maturation phases of healing improve
the formation of strong and flexible repair tissue,
which is vital in maintaining full pain-free range
of motion during rehabilitation.
In all cases, such massage techniques are employed
in collaboration with other appropriate medical care.
For example, encouraging circulation around a bruise,
but not directly on it, through the use of compression,
cross-fibre techniques or even long, deep strokes
is only used after appropriate medical referral and
diagnostics indicate that there are no clots formed
in the area which may embolize.
Choosing Sports Therapist
A qualified sports massage therapist must be thoroughly
trained in anatomy, physiology and kinesiology, as
well as in the stresses inherent in a wide variety
of sports. The therapist should have training and
experience in all areas of sports massage maintenance,
event and rehabilitation.
Qualified sports massage therapists perform the highest
level of sports massage therapy techniques, while
working co-operatively with healthcare professionals
such as physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists,
chiropractors, nurses and others. At sporting events,
sports massage therapists work with other medical
staff, through a well-established protocol to provide
optimum comprehensive healthcare services for athletes.
In 1996, sports massage therapy was included for
the first time as an official part of medical services
provided for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The American
Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) members constituted
more than 70 percent of the sports therapists selected
to work the events.
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