What are the Benefits of Sports Massage for Non-Athletes?

Soft tissue structures consist of muscle, tendons, ligaments and fascia. Massage is aimed to help relax and revive the soft tissue structures by different kneading and pressure techniques. These structures can get tight for a number of reasons, for example training in the gym or even just sitting at a desk. There are several different forms of massage that do the same thing; there’s Swedish massage, there’s deep tissue massage, and there’s sports massage. 

 

Swedish massages uses techniques to help you improve circulation, relax muscles, and help with relaxation. This tends to be a massage that is performed with lighter pressure and a very flowing stroking technique. 

 

Deep tissue massage uses techniques to help ease and release tension deep into the muscles. It is commonly used for chronic aches and pains. This tends to be still a flowing stroking technique but with significantly more pressure applied. But don’t worry – the pressure is completely within your control. 

It will also help to reduce muscle spasms and also to help reduce any lactic acid that has built up. Sports massage involves both aspects of the previous two massages, so the long flowing strokes mixed with the pressure. The only real difference is sports massage tends to concentrate slightly more on trigger point techniques as well. This is when you massage find a point of tightness or slight discomfort then apply constant pressure to it this then allows the muscle to release off and give the sensation of it dispersing. 

 

Sports massage also looks at specific areas being targeted. Swedish massage is commonly used for back or full body, whereas sports massage can be specifically looking at one muscle group or muscle in a joint region. 

 

What you will find is it would be very unusual for massage to be specifically beneficial to one group of people, therefore to assume that it would only be beneficial to an athlete opposed to someone who doesn’t partake in sport would mean that you are doing your body an injustice. 

Through work, exercise, and just general chores, your body uses a lot of muscles and puts them into a state in which need helping to be relieved though the means of massage. 

 

The difference between whether you are an athlete needing a massage or a non-athlete needing a massage is how long in-between the sessions you can go. If you’re looking at maintenance of just tight muscles, then you are looking between 2-4 weeks apart. If you’re an athlete you’re looking at getting a massage between 1-2 weeks apart. 

 

Professional sports players tend to have massage as a way of keeping injuries at bay. Athletes suffer (as you would expect) from tight muscles. With tight muscles comes the higher chance of picking up an injury and massage is a great tool to be able to loosen off these tight muscles. This is the reason they look at getting massage on a more regular basis. 

Whether you’re an athlete or not, if you feel you would benefit from the relaxation of muscles you would enjoy a sports massage. 

 

Need some help with a tight or niggling pain? Book a massage appointment near you now.