We all know recovery is important. If we don’t recover properly, we get tired, our performance suffers, and we are more likely to get injured. Massage addresses all these problems head on by helping repair muscle tightness, decreasing soreness, and restoring mobility. Sports massage is utilized regularly in recovery and performance programs here at Alpha Sports Performance Medicine to keep athletes in the gym training hard while taking minimal time off.
Learn how sports massage assists with muscle recovery by both speeding up physiological repair while also decreasing neurological stress.
Sports Massage Promotes Tissue Repair
When you exercise, you create microscopic damage to your muscles which alerts your body to start the healing process. Healing tissue repair involves inflammation, cell activation, and building new muscle fibers.
Massage helps focus this repair by moving fluids around the body, decreasing adhesions that interfere with normal tissue motion. Manual therapy techniques help line up collagen fibers. Massage can help decrease inflammation so that it doesn’t get out of control.
By speeding up these processes muscles are able to recover much quicker and return to their pre-exercise ability to contract.
Increases Circulation and Oxygen
Your body needs oxygen to heal. One of the quickest ways to increase blood flow is through massage. The pressure applied manually by a therapist will stimulate circulation and help flood your tissues with oxygen.
Better circulation will allow muscles to produce energy faster and replace the nutrients lost during training. Circulation also can decrease your feeling of fatigue as you are not in a localized oxygen debt.
This is one reason athletes feel light and almost “butterfly” after a massage – improved circulation.
Lymphatic Drainage
Another way the body removes waste from your muscles is through the lymphatic system. When you exercise, you flood your muscles with fluid. This build up can lead to swelling and dehydration if it isn’t removed.
Sport massage utilizes light rhythmic motions to stimulate lymphatic drainage. Lymphatic fluid is moved through the body via soft tissues motions and manual pressure.
Helps Decrease DOMS
Delayed onset muscle soreness is that feeling you get after a hard training session or when you try a new exercise.
Massage can help decrease the severity of DOMS you feel after exercising by increasing circulation and decreasing the sensitivity of the affected tissues.
Slow, light pressure and rhythmic motions can help relax irritated nerve endings.
Allows You To Train Through Soreness
Active recovery and sports massage go hand in hand. Using both allows you to continue training through soreness while decreasing your overall recovery time.
Decreases Muscle Pain and Stiffness
Muscle stiffness limits your range of motion and makes you more susceptible to strains and pulls. Massage helps break up these adhesions and restore normal muscle tissue glide.
Deep tissue work and stretching during a massage help lengthen muscles and restore normal mobility.
Massage also activates your body’s natural pain inhibiting pathways which can decrease your perception of pain and help you relax.
Decreases Stress Signals
Not only does massage help with the physical aspects of recovery but it helps promote recovery by decreasing stress signals sent from your body.
Sports massage will stimulate many sensory receptors that help decrease muscle tone. It also will trigger your parasympathetic nervous system which sends signals to your body to rest and recover.
Your heart rate will decrease, your breathing will slow, and your body will start to relax.
All of these factors lower your stress levels allowing you to sleep better at night and recover faster.
When to Schedule a Sports Massage
Just as important as how sports massage helps with recovery is also when you schedule your session. Sport massage is best utilized within 1-2 days of intense exercise if you are only looking for a light session to boost circulation. If you are looking to receive deeper work it is best to book your sessions after a rest day or light training day.
This will allow your body time to adapt to the treatment without affecting your performance.
Light sessions can even be utilized before competition to help prepare muscles.
How Often Should You Get Sports Massage
In order for sports massage to be most beneficial, it should be used regularly as part of your overall recovery strategy. Utilizing massage once every 1-2 weeks can help decrease the likelihood of your body building up too much tension. This can help prevent overuse injuries.
Depending on your training cycle you can get more or less a massage. During a heavy training block you may want to get a massage weekly. If you are taking it easy you may only need it once every few weeks.
By keeping notes on how your soreness levels, mobility, and performance change you can figure out what is best for you.
There are many different techniques that can be used during your sports massage session. The techniques used during your session will be based on your needs that day.
Myofascial release works on deeper layers of tissue to help release restrictions in the fascia.
Trigger point therapy is used to treat areas of high tension that are causing pain or limiting your movement.
By using a variety of techniques your therapist can make sure they are helping you recover while improving your overall performance.
Sports massage therapy is a great way to improve recovery time while helping you decrease muscle soreness. At Alpha Sports Performance Medicine our certified professionals can assess your needs to create a safe and effective session just for you.
Safety Disclaimer: Contact Alpha Sports Performance Medicine before receiving a massage if you have an acute injury or infection. Although rare, we advise those with the following conditions to avoid massage: Blood Clots, Cancer, Uncontrolled Diabetes, fractures, Osteoporosis, Chronic Venous Insufficiency, or impaired immune system.
FAQ
Q1: What is considered a sports massage?
A: Sport massage is any type of massage that helps promote recovery by improving circulation, decreasing muscle tension, and helping remove waste from your muscles.
Q2: When should I schedule a sports massage?
A: Ideally, you should get a light sport massage within 24-48 hours of intense training. If you are looking to receive deep tissue work, schedule your session after a rest day or light workout.
Q3: Will sports massage help decrease muscle soreness?
A: Yes! Sports massage has been shown to help decrease delayed onset muscle soreness after intense physical activity.
Q4: How often should I get a sports massage?
A: Ideally, you should get massages 1-2 times per week. If you’re going through a tough training cycle you may want to increase your frequency. If you are not training as much you may only need it once every few weeks.
Q5: Can massage help improve my performance?
A: Yes! By helping you decrease stiffness, maintain and increase mobility, and promote recovery you’ll be able to consistently train and perform at your best.