Whether you’re a professional athlete or weekend warrior, one way to enhance your athletic performance is by incorporating sports massages into your wellness regimen.
“Sports massages manipulate the muscles and promote flexibility to help prepare athletes for competition,” says Kathryn Glad, LMT, a licensed massage therapist at Henry Ford Health. “They usually go deeper than other types of massage. They also function as a treatment to help someone recover after competition or exercise.”
Sports massages can be tailored to someone’s specific needs, which requires communication between therapist and patient. “For example, if you have a certain injury, we can work specifically on that area of the body. Or if you’re sore from a run, we can add in stretching, as we’re trained in stretching protocols, along with a variety of other modalities,” says Glad.
Benefits of sports massages include:
- Promoting muscle recovery and reducing soreness. “When the muscles don’t get enough oxygen during an aerobic workout, lactic acid can build up in tissues and cause pain,” says Glad. “Massage can help rid the body of lactic acid faster than it naturally would. Athletes find that massage delays the onset of muscle soreness after a workout.”
- Helping to prevent injury. Sports massages can improve flexibility and range of motion to reduce the chance of injury. “We also ensure your muscles are working properly by checking ‘firing patterns,’ or motor neuron signals sent to activate and contract muscles,” says Glad.
- Helping to heal current injuries. Sports massages improve circulation and stimulate blood flow to a certain area, promoting healing.
- Lowering blood pressure, facilitating quality sleep and instilling a sense of calm. After a big game or workout, many athletes find it difficult to sleep. A sports massage can promote relaxation – and ease a busy mind, as many athletes can experience sports-related anxiety and stress.
When To Get A Sports Massage
Enhance Your Athletic Performance
Timing your sports massages properly can be important: Glad doesn’t recommend getting a sports massage sooner than two days before a big race or game. “You may feel a little sore afterward and you don’t want to be sore going into an event,” she says. “You want to be in a natural, high-performance state. But I do recommend getting a sports massage right after a game or race to help encourage natural recovery.”
Determining the right frequency can be helpful, too. “I have some patients who see me three times a week, others every six weeks,” says Glad. “One runner started seeing me twice a week, just to help loosen his muscles from an injury. When healing progressed, we reduced his sessions to every three weeks. But he said if he waited every four weeks then he’d gone too long. It’s all about finding the right frequency for you.”
One note: While sports massages can be beneficial for anyone who is active, they’re not recommend for those who have bleeding disorders or low platelet counts, along with anyone who is pregnant or has diabetes, cancer or who has recently undergone surgery. Lighter types of massages, Glad notes, can be beneficial for these groups but always check with your doctor before trying a new treatment.
Reviewed by Kathryn Glad, a board-certified licensed massage therapist who sees patients at the Henry Ford Center for Integrative Medicine. She offers a variety of massage styles designed to fit each patient’s unique needs, and her specialties include sports, deep tissue, prenatal, oncology, aromatherapy, Thai, Swedish and reflexology.
