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Sports massage is a type of massage that is used in practice to improve the physical abilities and performance of athletes. It is part of the entire sports regime and training. This procedure helps to quickly achieve a good athletic shape and maintain it for a long time. In addition, sports massaging is widely used as an athlete’s preparation for participation in competitions, as well as first aid for drowning.
How does sports massage affect the human body?
Sports massage has many positive effects on the body. As many studies show, it has a good effect on the neuromuscular apparatus, lymph circulation, blood circulation and metabolism, so it is not surprising that it was recognized as the most effective and affordable way of rehabilitation among athletes.
During the session, tired muscles are supplied with oxygen and nutrients, it is easier for them to get rid of toxins, muscle performance is restored and even increases. In addition, the ligaments become more elastic, and the blood circulation of the joints with all surrounding tissues is significantly increased, which helps to expand the range of motion in the joints. It is especially good to use sports massage in the presence of bruises in the ligamentous apparatus, scars in the tissues and any consequences after injuries and illnesses.
Basically, the impact of such therapy on the human body is determined by its dosage, types of administration, body sensitivity and other indicators. In any case, it is a tonic and sedative, which one way or another will only have a positive result.
Types of sports massage
Based on the tasks set, massage for athletes is divided into several types, each of which differs in the peculiarity of the execution technique, the effect on a specific group of muscles or joints:
- Training massage is a significant part of the entire training process. It is used as an additional means of improving the performance of an athlete. Most often it is used simultaneously with training. This allows you to improve their productivity and even improve the skill of the athlete. The effectiveness of such sessions directly depends on the method of its application, which is associated with the main training system, a specific sport, the intensity of the loads and the volume of training.
To achieve the maximum result, it is necessary to take into account not only the personal characteristics of the athlete himself, but also the principle of a particular sport. For example, skaters and runners need a foot massage, water sports participants need a shoulder girdle, arms, back, and so on.
The duration of the training session, as a rule, varies within one hour. It includes such basic techniques as: rubbing, kneading, stroking, auxiliary (at the discretion of the master). A session of such manipulation is scheduled 2-4 hours after training, and after it it is recommended to take a hot bath (shower) or even visit a sauna to improve the result.
- Pre-massage is a short-term method that aims to better prepare the athlete for competition or training. Its tasks are: maximum mobilization of the functional capabilities of the body and warming up the muscles on the eve of future active physical activity, increasing the tone of the whole organism or removing the “starting fever”. Such a sports massage is carried out 10-20 minutes before the warm-up in the region of 5-20 minutes before or after the training session and the tournament.
Preliminary massage can be warm-up, warming, mobilizing, soothing and tonic.
- Restorative massage is a massage that is carried out after physical and mental stress and at any level of fatigue for the highest degree of rehabilitation of various body functions and improvement of its capacity. Its tasks include restoring motor performance, removing the feeling of fatigue and preparing the body for the coming physical stress.
Recovery procedures are applied after training or competition, as well as in the intervals between them. The duration of the procedure, the intensity and depth of the massage are individually set for each athlete, but on average it takes 40-60 minutes. Before its appointment, it is necessary to take into account the type of sport, the loads used, the physical position of the athlete, the scale of the massaged plane and the formation of the muscular apparatus.
Such a massage is most effective if it is carried out in two sessions every day. In athletics, wrestling, swimming, boxing, and so on, restorative massage is done for a short time and in between competitions.
- Massage for sports injuries – this type of massage is needed so that the athlete can get back in shape as soon as possible and take up the usual workouts. Such therapy is almost the only method that can work a miracle as a result of serious injuries.
This massage is carried out exclusively by an experienced master, since in its process damaged muscle tissues and tendons will be touched, and in no case should they be harmed secondary.
Features and techniques of sports massage
Sports massage has its own peculiarity, as it uses warming preparations and ointments for more productive warming up of muscles, joints and ligaments. It is also carried out by a professional massage therapist, but there are exercises that you can perform on your own.
It is aimed not at warming up the whole body, but at individual muscle groups. In addition, massaging is used with an increase in the intensity of pressure, this is its difference from classical massage.
Sports massage is equally great for all people who lead an active lifestyle. It doesn’t matter what exactly a person does: fitness or playing football with friends, hiking, jogging in the morning, or simply having increased physical activity throughout each day. Such a procedure, in any case, can help a person relieve tension and relax after intense stress, as well as mobilize in a short period of time.
This type of therapy is an inseparable part of the entire human system of physical education, an important hygienic panacea that supports the overall development of the body. Massage strengthens muscles, joints, makes the skin more elastic and eliminates fatigue. This procedure is an indispensable tool for the fastest rehabilitation of the body’s forces after competitions, hiking, traveling and traveling.
Nowadays, sports massage is widely introduced into the work of all sports organizations. It began to be massively distributed among athletes and athletes. It is also mandatory to use during training and competition. All major sports voluntary communities keep massage therapists on their staff. In training schools, special sports courses, technical schools and institutes, this is a compulsory science for study. In addition, masters of massage art accompany various sports teams that go to competitions abroad.
Massaging techniques are stroking, kneading, vibration, as well as an increasing rhythm of movements. The manipulation includes lymphatic drainage massage (improves blood circulation and lymph flow in tissues), which helps to better oxygenate the muscles and get rid of toxins and lactic acid.
The power and depth of pressure is individually determined for each athlete, subject to gender, age and sport.