It is the position of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) that those who participate in exercise programs, as well as athletes in training, can benefit from massage therapy.
Benefits of therapeutic sports massage
Increased range of motion, leading to enhanced performance. Decreased muscle stiffness and soreness after exercise or physical activity. Reduced recovery time post-injury. Increased levels of relaxation and reduction in physical and psychological stress levels.
Does sports massage improve performance?
Sports massage aims to improve exercise performance and muscle function. Therapeutic massage emphasizes stress relief and well-being. … Most athletes experience increased flexibility and range of motion, greater endurance, and reduced muscle pain after a massage.
Increased localized blood circulation and temperature, during massage help the tissues become more pliable. This all helps restore flexibility and repeated bouts of stretching may lead to changes in connective tissue, plus an increase in the length of muscle fibres.
Are massages good for athletes?
Athletes may find an edge in these psychological benefits, making massage a double-duty treatment; a mind and body therapy. … Increases blood flow throughout the body, bringing vital oxygen and nutrients all over. Relieves muscle pain and tension. Improves connective tissue healing, which promotes muscle elasticity.
What are the benefits of Sports Massage?
Below are just a few of the benefits that massage can provide: Relaxation – massage helps the muscles relax through heat generated, circulation, and stretching. It may also lower high blood pressure. Flexibility – someone with tight muscles may have better flexibility following treatment.
What is the difference between sports massage and deep tissue?
A deep tissue massage is perfectly explained by its name. The pressure is adjusted to manipulate the deeper tissue layers in the body. … This is a job for a specially trained sports massage therapist. A sports massage is the manipulation of soft tissue (muscle) in order to prevent or improve sports injuries.
Massage is beneficial to more than muscles
- Reduces heart rate.
- Lowers blood pressure.
- Reduces recovery time after an injury.
- Rehabs an injury.
- Lowers anxiety.
- Improves mood.
- Increases blood flow throughout the body, bringing vital oxygen and nutrients all over.
- Relieves muscle pain and tension.
Position Statement
It is the position of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) that those who participate in exercise programs, as well as athletes in training, can benefit from massage therapy.
Background Information
Millions of people around the world play sports and exercise, from the elite professional athlete to the novice just starting a walking program for general health and wellness benefits. Exercise is recommended for everyone. Although other government groups in the past have recommended exercise and fitness, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the first official U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines in October 2008, as the official guidelines of the U.S. government. The Guidelines indicate that some activity is better than none, and then go on to make several specific recommendations:
- Moderate amounts of physical activity provide substantial health benefits for all adults. This dose is defined as 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity activity such as walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity/week such as jogging or vigorous sports. Furthermore, this moderate dose can be obtained by mixing some days of moderate-intensity and some days of vigorous-intensity, with one minute of vigorous equaling two minutes of moderate-intensity. For this combination, 150 minutes is the goal.
- Additional health benefits can be obtained by doing more than the moderate dose. This higher target is described as 300 minutes of moderate-intensity, 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or combining moderate and vigorous intensity.
- All adults should participate in 30 minutes of strength-building exercise on two days of the week. These exercises should engage all major muscle groups.
- Children and adolescents should participate in 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Most of this should be moderate to vigorous-intensity activity and should include vigorous activity at least three days/week. It also is recommended that children and adolescents participate in muscle-strengthening three days/week and bone-strengthening activities at least three days/week.1
Sports massage can be used to improve athletic performance, speed recovery, and can be utilized by all individuals who participate in any athletic and/or exercise program to help improve conditioning and maintain peak performance. Many professional and collegiate athletic programs employ or contract with massage therapists, and sports massage has been sought for many years by athletes of differing backgrounds for multiple reasons.2 With the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines being very clear that activity is essential for people to be healthy, sports massage can be recommended to those individuals who participate in exercise programs as well as professional and collegiate athletes.
Research has shown that in relation to exercise and athletic participation massage can:*
- Reduce muscle tension4
- Help athletes monitor muscle tone
- Promote relaxation
- Reduce muscle hypertonicity
- Increase range of motion
- Improve soft tissue function
- Support recovery from the transient immunosuppression state
- Support the recovery of heart rate variability and diastolic blood pressure after high-intensity exercise.
- Decrease muscle stiffness and fatigue after exercise
- Improve exercise performance
- Decrease delayed onset muscle soreness
- Be the most efficient intervention for maintaining maximal performance time in subsequent exercise tests when combined with active recovery from maximal exercise
- Reduce serum creatine kinase post-exercise
- Reduce swelling
- Reduce breathing pattern disorders
- Enhance athletic performance
- It May help prevent injuries when massage is received regularly
Individuals who participate in exercise and athletic programs who seek enhanced performance, improved conditioning, faster recovery, injury prevention, and assistance in maintaining peek fitness can benefit from massage therapy given by professional massage therapists working within their scope of practice.
*Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider.
Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.
The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, or prescription of any kind. The decision to use, or not to use, any information is the sole responsibility of the reader. These statements are not expressions of legal opinion relative to the scope of practice, medical diagnosis, or medical advice, nor do they represent an endorsement of any product, company, or specific massage therapy technique, modality, or approach. All trademarks, registered trademarks, brand names, registered brand names, logos, and company logos referenced in this post are the property of their owners.
