Pre-Event Massage-Performed 24-48 hours before competition.
- light stimulating techniques are used at a quick even rate and rhythmic.
Post-Event Massage
- Preformed 24-48 hours after event-
- slower techniques –should still be fairly light
- Lots of drainage.
All athletes have their own particular way of preparing for a good or excellent performance. Pre event massage plays a very useful and additional part in any preparation for competition. Only the principle muscles for the event are treated
- Helping an athlete prepare for, or recover from, is an important part of sports massage
- Your first ever massage should not be before a major event
- No two sportsmen/women respond to massage in quite the same way
Pre event massage
can be done anything from two days to immediately before the event; however, deep massage should not be considered as it can take two days to recover. Some athlete’s say they lose some of their explosive power if deep massage is used.
A stimulating massage is required for sports that require speed, strength and explosive power. For pre event nerves a more calming massage is often welcomed. At this point a well-trained athlete would use massage psychologically rather than physically.
In the last hour before the event massage should not suffice as an adequate warm up, only as part of.
Post Event Massage
Most athletes carry out a cooling down routine but often fail to do so after competition because of sheer exhaustion, elation or disappointment.
Massage can be an adequate substitute for a warm down as it can achieve much of the same effect by removing muscle waste and stretching the tissues.
Nutrition
– a healthy balanced diet is very important for heath and performance. Adequate hydration, generally and before, and during and after exertions is crucial. Dietary specifics are often incorporated into sports training regimes.
Unnecessary or excessive repetition
– overuse injuries occur quite easily. Muscle fatigue can lead to strain. Tendonitis and other repetitive strain injuries can develop quickly under inappropriate or unaccustomed repetitive loading, but may take a long time to resolve. Repetition, especially when weight bearing, causes undue stresses to joints, also muscle imbalance can develop. Obviously, such a discipline as distance running has repetition at its heart, and distances runners have their own collection of commonly suffered injuries to show for it (shin splints, ilio-tibial band (ITB) syndrome (runners knee), stress fractures, Achilles tendonitis etc).
Pregnancy MassageMost people enjoy human touch.
A touch can convey comfort, love, awareness and many other sensations. It can also help alleviate aches and pains.
All of these are of benefit, especially when you are pregnant.
Benefits of Pregnancy Massage include:
- Tranquil relaxation and reduce stress.
- Relief from muscle cramps, spasms, and myofascial pain, especially in the lower back, neck, hips, and legs.
- Increase in blood and lymph circulation, which can reduce swelling.
- Reduces stress on weight-bearing joints.
- Improves outcome of labor and eases labor pain.
- Enhances the pliability of skin and underlying tissues.
- Provides support for the new mother with physical and emotional strains of mothering.
We recommends that when you are looking for a pregnancy or postpartum massage therapist that you make sure the therapist is certified in pregnancy massage."This means the therapist has taken special training and knows what is safe practice for mother and her baby. Just being a massage therapist doesn't mean they are qualified to give massage to pregnant and postpartum women, Just because a brochure offers pregnancy massage doesn't always mean everyone is qualified to perform this type of massage.Massage during pregnancy differs from a regular massage in a couple of ways. The biggest way it differs is that the person receiving the massage is pregnant, and therefore knowledge of pregnancy and the anatomy of a pregnant woman are very important. This means that positioning during a massage is critical to the safety and well-being of both the mother and the baby she is carrying. The Benefits of Pregancy Massage
Pregnancy massage provides relaxation by relieving stress on joints.
It eases neck and back pain, helps you to keep good posture and relaxes and provides flexibility to birthing muscles.
Pregnancy massage aids the circulatory and lymphatic systems, which keeps blood flowing to both the mother and the baby.
It stimulates different glands in the body, which help to stabilize hormone levels, and relieves nervous tension throughout the body.
And the nurturing touch during pregnancy massage promotes relaxation and provides emotional support. Post-Partum Pregnancy
Massage Pregnancy massage is also good after giving birth.
Postpartum pregnancy massage can help restore a mother's body to its pre-pregnancy condition.
It helps to realign the body weight, and tones the over-stretched skin over the belly.
As with all massage, it relieves muscle tension and stress from mothering duties
