The Benefits of Sports Massage Therapy
Exercise places unique physical demands on your body, requiring strength, endurance and coordination for skillful movement. While exercise contributes to your physical fitness and mental well-being, it has the potential to lead to muscle tightness, imbalances and even injury if not managed properly. Massage therapy with the registered massage therapists at our Vancouver clinic is a highly effective way for you to recover from training and enhance performance in your sport of choice.
Promotes Faster Recovery
Following a long bike ride, or an intense cross training workout, muscles accumulate metabolic waste. Massage therapy enhances circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles while helping to remove lactic acid and other byproducts. This process accelerates recovery and reduces post-exercise soreness. In a 2005 study published in the Journal of Athletic Therapy, researchers found massage therapy helped to reduce perceived muscle soreness after exercise by 30%.
Enhances Flexibility and Mobility
Depending on your sport of choice, you may develop tension in the muscles which you exert over and over again as you exercise. Think of how hard your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes work repetitively when you do an endurance ride up Cypress Mountain, or when you are training for a half or full marathon at the seawall. Targeted massage therapy helps release tension to specific muscle groups, improving flexibility and joint mobility. This not only reduces the risk of overuse injuries but also contributes to smoother and more efficient movement.
Supports Injury Prevention
By addressing muscle imbalances and tension, massage therapy helps to prevent minor aches and pains from developing into more serious injuries. For example, releasing your tight calves can alleviate the strain on the ankles and knees if you are a distance runner or cyclist. This allows you to train more consistently, and with fewer interruptions.
Provides Mental and Emotional Benefits
Beyond its impact on the physical body, massage therapy also promotes relaxation and reduces stress. Massage can restore a sense of balance, improve sleep quality and support your overall mental well-being. There is evidence from a 2005 article published in the International Journal of Neurosciences that massage therapy reduces cortisol levels and promotes parasympathetic nervous system activity. The reduction in stress helps you to keep your emotions in check as you prepare for a race or a game, as well as for your daily life.
Book an Appointment with your Cross Roads RMT
Schedule some regular maintenance sports massage therapy sessions to keep you healthy and feeling strong. If you just participated in an intense workout or race, book yourself a massage within 24 to 48 hours. It will help to decrease your post-workout soreness faster. Your Cross Roads RMT may incorporate deeper pressures, stretching, joint mobilization and cross-fiber friction massage into your treatment, and will focus on specific muscle groups involved in your sport.