Trisoma® - Sports Massage
Sports Massage
is not just for the athlete who frequently performs near failure, but also for the typical office worker who also performs near failure for certain muscles, simply because the body is not designed to sit for hours at a time.
In ancient Greece, gladiators and Olympic athletes were massaged before their events.
[1]
Modern day athletes receive massage regularly, and the growing number of young and old athletes, as well as typically slumped-over office workers, are learning that sports massage is a valuable tool for
improving performance, recovery and rehabilitation.
Sports Massage
is a general term for a very broad area of bodywork, which focuses on physiologic processes which promote neuromuscular and soft tissue function, recovery and healing. Types of Sports Massage encompass:
-
therapies for chronic conditions
Targets of sports massage
include
tendinosis (which is more common than tendinitis,)
[2]
fascial restrictions, and other myofascial pathology, including scarring in muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. Treatment may include assessment, stretching, client feedback, and various techniques of manipulating tissue.
Sessions may last 2 minutes or over an hour; and may encompass full-body and/ or emphasis on a particular problem area.
Click here for an Explanation of Therapeutic Effects of Compression Massage
from DeeperWork’s
Step This Way.
Pre-event treatment
goals are to increase blood circulation, tissue and joint flexibility and mental clarity to prepare for performance. This does not replace the athlete's warm up but complements it. Factors such as temperature, nervousness, fatigue, hyperactivity and past experience with massage are considered before giving treatment.
Trigger point or deep tissue work is normally contraindicated for pre-event massage as it may interfere with the client's timing and strength.
Some forms of massage are very superficial.
The term 'skin polishing' and 'moisturizing' have been used for light swedish massage. A superficial massage can be very relaxing, and have great health benefits, however to manipulate muscle and other tissues more effectively, massage needs to be applied deeper and/ or with different techniques, some of which may induce a deep relaxation, while others may border on the uncomfortable.
Long-term pain patterns
are most often the result of scar tissue that forms in muscles, tendons, ligaments, bursas, nerves and joints after an injury, or hundreds of discrete injuries. The pain typically activates trigger points, and decreases function.
Techniques, such as transverse friction or cross-fiber frictioning, involve applying deep pressure to tissues repeatedly to break down adhesions and scar tissue, partially reducing an injury back to its acute stage in order to trigger the body's natural healing response.
Paul's arsenal includes
Myofascial
Release,
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation,
Cross-Fiber Friction,
and other therapies, such as
Barefoot Deep Tissue,
which may or may not be painless nor initially relaxing, but can help enhance top athletic performance.
Treatment can be adjusted to the comfort-versus-effect preference of the client.
Although top athletes use bodywork for maximizing performance while minimizing injury,
recreational athletes and other people are becoming aware of the salubrious benefits of sports massage.
Connective tissues around joints and cartilage
have poor blood circulation, so conventional medicine maintained that any injury to connective tissue was irreparable except by surgery. Recent studies since the 1980's are showing this to not be true. The human body has a fascinating intelligence when it come to healing, and when the body is allowed to listen to itself, healing can resume.
Dr. James Cyriax (1904-1985), British Internist and Orthopaedic Surgeon, also called the the "Einstein" of orthopaedic medicine, developed a technique for
deep transverse friction,
or cross fiber friction, which effectively reduces existing fibrosis and encourages the formation and more proper alignment of strong, pliable tissue at the site of healing injuries in
muscles,
tendons
and
ligaments.
This technique reduces the crystalline roughness that forms between tendons and their sheaths that can result in painful tendonitis and tendinosis. It can also prevent or soften
myofascial adhesions,
restore mobility, remove toxins from muscle tissue, and relieve tension and possibly trigger points.
The benefits of Cross Fiber Friction,
which functions similarly to prolotherapy, in regrowth of collagen and cartilage, is being verified by clinical studies.
Of course, a
tear in the tissue
may need surgical repair and should be evaluated by an orthopedic doctor.
Injuries may not be immediately evident.
Whether one is a top athlete or an office worker, repetitive actions, which may include daily standing, swimming, or just holding a pencil for several hours without proper rest, may cause microscopic breakdown of various soft tissue. Over time symptoms will appear, usually after significant damage has been done. Sports massage is one method of treatment to minimize reduction of active time or work hours.
Cross-fiber friction
and other deep work has been known to reduce pain and stiffness from osteoarthritis. For rheumatoid arthritis, lymphatic drainage is useful. Inflamed joints should be massaged under medical supervision.
Hyaluronic Acid is being researched as the next panacea medical treatment in connective tissue disorders and repair.
Miscellaneous:
My proceleusmatic instructor and mentor,
John Harris,
worked in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and founded the first full-time
Sports Massage school in the USA, has trained thousands of bodyworkers around the world and continues to teach at
The Santa Barbara Body Therapy Institute.
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Buy the book Fix Pain by John Harris and Fred Kenyon on Am@%*n for over $100, or here for a discounted price with free shipping!
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Buy the New DVD Barefoot Deep Tissue by John Harris for a discounted price and free shipping!
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As a wise man stated,
"I do not diagnose, prescribe nor treat; I just rub it and if it feels better, groovy!"
References
1. Calvert, Robert Noah,
The History of Massage, An Illustrated Survey from around the World.
Inner Traditions International, (2002)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89281-881-5
ISBN: 0-89281-881-6
(Return to Reference 1 in text)
2. Wikipedia:
Tendinosis,
sometimes called chronic tendinitis, chronic tendinopathy or chronic tendon injury, is damage to a tendon at a cellular level. It is thought to be caused by microtears in the connective tissue in and around the tendon.
Tendinosis is typically diagnosed as tendinitis/ tendonitis due to the limited understanding of tendinopathies by the medical community.
The suffix 'itis' means inflammation leading to anti-inflammatories being prescribed, despite clinical trials proving little or no benefit from such medication treatment. The strongest evidence for treatment of tendinosis is for nitric oxide patches, cross-fiber friction massage and for forms of resistance training exercises that 'load' the affected tendon.
(Return to Reference 2 in text)
Image Credits
1.
2008 Paul Svacina.
2.
courtesy of www.massagenerd.com.
3. 2008 Paul Svacina.
4. 2002 Paul Svacina.
5.
courtesy of www.massagenerd.com.
6.
Melike Bitlis-Bush
and
Delphine Louie
7.
courtesy of www.massagenerd.com.
"Life is like a bicycle. You don't fall off until you stop pedaling." - Dr. Travell
