It’s No Day at the Spa
28 Oct 2006
It’s No Day at the Spa but receiving regular Sports Massage treatments can keep you playing and improve game.
Athletes such as runners, cyclists, and swimmers receive treatment on a regular basis to rehabilitate injuries and enhance performance yet unlike rugby players; they are not even subject to the brutality of a contact sport.
In the world of rugby, individuals put their bodies through rigorous training programs and aggressive pitch play week after week but what do they do to take care of themselves?
Hamstring pulls, shoulder injuries, back spasms, ankle sprains – you’ve heard them all – injuries of a rugger. Players are constantly pushing their physical limits but overuse of muscles creates imbalances in soft tissue which can lead to chronic problems. There is nothing worse than sitting out of a playoff game (or any game for that matter) because you are hurt.
Sports Massage should be an integral part of an athlete's training program because it offers physical, physiological and psychological benefits including: injury prevention, restoration of mobility to injured muscle tissue, reduction of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness; it increases flexibility and improves performance.
In addition to a routine “warm-up,” receiving Sports Massage before a match will increase circulation and flexibility. It can be used to relax tight muscles and/or stimulate others as needed. This sort of massage lasts between five and eight minutes and is meant to give the athlete a chance to prepare physically and psychologically.
Post match treatment, on the other hand, typically lasts from 20 to 30 minutes and will lessen discomfort of Micro-trauma and soreness of muscles. If Micro-trauma is not treated, it will lead to over-use or “chronic” injuries. Post match massage is highly effective at moving metabolic wastes out of muscles so the player will feel better faster and be able to get back into training sooner.
In between games, Rehabilitative Sports Massage involves deeper work, targeting injuries, flexibility and range of motion. Ideally, the restoration and rehabilitative process should be performed two days after or two to three days before a match.
Do you have to hire a full-time therapist to do all this? Certainly not. But if you want to continue pushing your body to extremes, find a good Sports Massage Therapist and get started fixing your muscular imbalances so you will be a healthier, more effective player.
