West Norwood Therapies
  • Home
  • Therapies
    • Gift Vouchers >
      • Gift vouchers
    • Massage
    • Acupuncture
    • Facial Therapies
    • Reflexology - feet & face
    • Reiki
    • Tibetan bowl sound healing
    • Videos
    • Links to classes
  • Practitioners
    • Erika Zettervall
    • Laura Devonshire
    • Miha Rosta
    • Philippa Summers
    • Veronica Massa
    • Tessa Glover
    • (Jennie Duck)
    • Schedule
    • Contact details
  • Contact and Booking
    • Find Us
    • About
    • Ts & Cs
    • Privacy Policy
    • Covid 19
  • Blog

Blog                                  

Sports massage: Not just for sports people!

1/27/2022

0 Comments

 
Sports massage therapist Lauren O'Sullivan shares some insights into what 'sports massage' actually is and the fact that it's benefits go far beyond sports people and also how the treatment might be adapted to suit you individually.
Picture
    The term ‘Sports Massage’ can sometimes be misleading if taken literally. It is of course a very useful, and often necessary, treatment for sports people, but it can also be beneficial for a whole host of different people. People working from home since the start of the pandemic might not have the best ergonomic set-up and as a result are experiencing neck or back pain. Take delivery drivers, who are sat in the same position all day, using the same restrictive movement patterns to drive. Think of the security guard, standing in a stationary position on their feet most of the day. All of these people and more are using their bodies in a way that will build muscle tension, increase areas of restriction within the soft tissues, and cause restrictions in ranges and ease of movement. Sports massage can help them!
Picture
Sports massage helps to resolve chronic pain, injuries, muscle aches and restricted range of movement. At some point in our life, we have or will experience one of the issues listed above. What is great about sports massage is that it uses a range of techniques to assess and treat a problem, rather than following a repeated routine of massage strokes. Each treatment is tailored to the individual and your therapist will spend some time talking to you and listening to your story before assessing you physically. I have treated countless individuals and even if the problem seems to be manifesting in the same way, every body is different and responds differently to treatment, so no two treatments are ever exactly the same.

Something that seems to put people off getting a sports massage is the reported pain that comes with it. Whilst some techniques can and will cause some degree of pain, it is never the goal of sports massage to cause pain. Your therapist should maintain good communication with you throughout the treatment in regards to pressure and pain, and make use of your breathing to help with relaxation in those more intense moments. I always give my clients a choice if I think that a certain technique is going to really help them but I know that it will be painful for them. I explain the technique beforehand and constantly check in during the application, giving them the choice to bow out at any point. Any deeper massage strokes are always applied very slowly, giving the tissues time to adapt and let me in without causing damage.

If somebody is new to sports massage or is feeling particularly sensitive, I use lighter techniques to work with more superficial soft tissue. Sometimes, a lighter more relaxing touch is exactly what the client needs and it is important to realise that massage is mostly affecting the neuromuscular system rather than effecting change physically. Stress is a major factor is some muscle tension, particularly if focused around the shoulders. The nervous system responds to stress by increasing muscle contraction in order to protect the body and prepare it for fight or flight. A relaxing and gentle approach can melt away the tension because the nervous system is responding to that touch and sending signals to ease off protective muscle tension.
Picture
A sports massage should leave you with a feeling of freedom within your body, feeling lighter and moving with more ease. You shouldn’t feel limited by discomfort in your daily activities. Those little everyday stresses on your body can develop into chronic problems if left to their own devices. Sports massage plays an important part in the recovery process, whether that’s from an intense training regime or from everyday stressors. Regular massage allows the body to function with less restriction and the hands on approach provides an important element of social touch, something that has been lacking since the start of the pandemic. If you haven’t before, give sports massage a go this year and see the difference it could make in your life.

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Blogs from the WNT team. For our blogs from before June 2020 please see individual profile pages - it's a good way to get to know practitioners too.

    Archives

    March 2025
    January 2025
    October 2024
    September 2024
    June 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    October 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020

    Categories

    All
    Acupuncture
    Advice
    Coaching
    Environment
    Erika Zettervall
    Exercise
    Facial Reflexology
    Facial Therapies
    Fertility
    Grief
    Guest Post
    Holistic Health
    Jennie Duck
    Laura Devonshire
    Lauren O'Sullivan
    Local
    Massage
    Menopause
    Mental Health
    Mihaly Rosta
    Nutrition
    Outdoors
    Philippa Summers
    Pregnancy Birth And Beyond
    Recipes
    Reflexology
    Reiki
    Seasonal
    Self Care
    Shame
    Skincare
    Sleep
    Small Business
    Sound Healing
    Sports Massage
    Stress
    Tai Chi
    Tessa Glover
    Veronica Massa
    Wellbeing
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Visit us - by appointment only please - in the office block in the Access Self Storage premises at 443 Norwood Road, London, SE27 9DQ

[email protected]
Phone - please contact practitioners directly, or if not in a rush you can leave a message for us to call you back at 07931876931.
Picture
  • Home
  • Therapies
    • Gift Vouchers >
      • Gift vouchers
    • Massage
    • Acupuncture
    • Facial Therapies
    • Reflexology - feet & face
    • Reiki
    • Tibetan bowl sound healing
    • Videos
    • Links to classes
  • Practitioners
    • Erika Zettervall
    • Laura Devonshire
    • Miha Rosta
    • Philippa Summers
    • Veronica Massa
    • Tessa Glover
    • (Jennie Duck)
    • Schedule
    • Contact details
  • Contact and Booking
    • Find Us
    • About
    • Ts & Cs
    • Privacy Policy
    • Covid 19
  • Blog