How to find ‘The best Sports Massage Near Me’
While there are many ways to prevent sports injuries and help you if you do get one, one of the best things to do is Google ‘sports massage near me’.
Did you know there are over 3 million sports injuries each year – just in teens and kids alone? That doesn’t include any adults that participate in sports or consider themselves to be athletes.
Getting a sports massage therapist can change everything. Ready to learn more? Let’s dive into the nitty gritty of why massage therapy is something that you need to get into right away.
What Is a Sports Massage?
We’re sure you know what a massage is – it feels good, and that’s basically all you need to know about that. But what is a sports massage specifically?
A sports massage specifically targets muscle pain and muscles that are strained from repetitive or strenuous movements. They typically last an hour to 90 minutes in order to target the muscle pain that may be bothering the person. This amount of time allows the massage therapist to get deep enough into the muscle tissues.
Where Did the Sports Massage Originate?
Sports massages originate all the way back to Ancient Greece and Egypt. Gladiators often saw a physical in order to make their muscles feel better while training.
Since then, it has become more and more popular, taking off in the early 1900s when more theories about sports massage came about. Learning more about how exactly to go about the massages and methods that work increased its popularity.
Although today it is very popular for athletes to get sports massages, it is also popular among everyday people who just want to reduce sore muscles. For instance, this would be great for construction workers, teachers who are on their feet all day, and anyone who does physical labour on the job on a daily basis.
What Are the Three Types of Sports Massage?
There are multiple types of sports massage. Each one targets something different for the athlete or person who is receiving it. Here are the three types to know about!
Pre-Event Sports Massage
A pre-event sports massage is exactly what it sounds like. This massage is typically done a few hours before an event or even a few days before an event. This loosens the muscles to get ready to go.
Post-Event Sports Massage
Again, this is exactly the type of massage that it sounds like. A post-event sports massage is great for after events to help your body start the recovery process.
It helps to relax your muscles to prevent them from cramping too much.
Rehabilitative Sports Massage
A rehabilitative sports massage has nothing to do with events or training in general. Instead, this is to help athletes or people who have sore muscles or are recovering from an injury.
A winback sports massage is a great way to help your body heal because it targets the areas of the muscle pain and increases the range of motion to reduce your risk of getting hurt again.
What Are the Benefits of Searching and Booking a ‘Sports Massage Near Me’?
There are plenty of benefits to getting a sports massage, and again, these benefits are not just for athletes or people who are training for something. They can benefit everyone in a variety of ways! Here are just a few of the benefits that can come from getting a sports massage.
Reduces DOMS
DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness. This happens when we try a new exercise, lift heavier weights than usual, or go a bit harder than we normally do like running 6 miles instead of 3. After you do that, you may begin to notice that you are sore about 12 hours to 24 hours after exercising.
From there, the soreness typically lasts for a few days. However, the soreness doesn’t have to last that long.
Most of the time, when people become sore, they don’t do anything because their muscles hurt. However, that limited range of motion only worsens when there is no stretching or massage done to the sore muscles.
That’s where sports massages can come into play. By working the muscles, blood flow goes back into the areas which will help speed up the recovery process and heal the soreness more quickly than if you just did nothing.
Eliminates Lactic Acid From the Muscles
The soreness that you feel when you work out a lot or too strenuously is from lactic acid buildup in your muscles. This comes from the inability of your body to get enough oxygen in your body.
The lactic acid can create discomfort, especially if you let it linger and stay in your body.
Regular massages and sports massages can actually work the lactic acid out of your body and muscles to improve recovery times. With that, training can continue and the risk of injury decreases since your muscles are back in working order.
Helps With Preventing Injuries
If you jump straight into working out before warming up, you may notice that your muscles are stiff. They have a limited range of motion. Because of this, it is harder for them to comply with what you want to do in the workout – and if you try too hard, you are at risk of injuring yourself.
With sports massages done regularly, your muscles are more likely to comply because they are continuously warmed up. The muscles are less tense after, as well as woken up a bit to be ready to go.
Helps With Sleep
As an athlete, getting enough sleep is vital for the recovery of your body and muscles. It’s also vital to ensure that you are performing at your best.
Getting regular sports massages can actually reduce your stress hormone, cortisol. This will help you feel less anxious and more relaxed, allowing you to get to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow at night.
Boosts Overall Health
As important as your muscle health is, your overall health as an athlete is just as important – if not more important!
Because it stimulates movement of lymphatic tissues, it can help with your immune system. This means you will not be sick as often or have to worry about taking time off because of feeling under the weather.
Getting massages can also help reduce anxiety, which is something that many of us need in today’s fast-paced world!
Great for Pain Relief
If you are an athlete that suffers from pain or even chronic pain, massage therapy can help with that. As an athlete, having this pain can be debilitating and frustrating.
Whether the pain is from sciatica, a pulled muscle, tendonitis, or something else, sports massage can help these muscles recover by promoting relaxation.
Are There Any Side Effects?
While there are many benefits to getting a sports massage, just like with anything you do, there are most likely going to be some sort of side effects. However, that doesn’t mean that the side effects are necessarily bad.
For instance, right after a sports massage, you may feel even sorer. That’s normal! While it can be uncomfortable and annoying, it is actually your body telling you that your muscles have been worked (and the lactic acid is working its way out of them), which will help you in a few days and in the long run!
What other side effects could you possibly experience with a sports massage?
You can expect to have some of the following:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Sleepiness
- Muscle inflammation
- Redness or bruising on the skin from the pressure
- Skin reaction from any oils or lotions used in the massage
For the most part, there are no severe side effects that you could experience from a sports massage!
Time to Get a Sports Massage Therapist
After reading this article all about what you can expect out of a sports massage, you’re probably ready to jump on Google and type in ‘sports massage near me. And you should!
While there are a few side effects that you could experience, getting a sports massage will benefit you in so many ways – ways that far outweigh the small side effects.
If you are ready to check out massages around you, you should look into Core Clinic. With amazing and knowledgeable staff, getting a sports massage from us can help you as the athlete you are! Ready to try out a massage to see what it is like?
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