Most of us think of sports massage as something for the hard core athlete – the man or woman who competes in their sport at a high level and who may, as a result of that effort, need relief from muscle pain or injury with professional massage therapy. But you don’t have to be Olympic-bound to enjoy the benefits of professional massage therapy.
If you’ve never experienced one, a sports massage generally concentrates on a specific problem area like neck, shoulders or legs. There are several types of sports massage including pre-event where a short, stimulating massage is provided prior to an event and involves parts of the body involved in the effort. Post-event massage is given after the event to normalize body tissues. Restorative massage is provided during training to help athletes maintain their fitness and competitive levels. Lastly, rehabilitative sports massage which is designed to help get an athlete back to shape after an injury.
However, according to massage therapy school instructors from Cortiva Institute, sports massage can be beneficial to anyone that may be exerting themselves physically in new ways, or may be experiencing pain or discomfort from a sport that they’ve been enjoying for years, like tennis, biking or running.
