Today, sports massage therapy is part of the mainstream, playing an important role in the rehabilitation of injuries and aiding recovery from all types of physical training. For anyone undertaking strength training, sports massage therapy is a great tool to negate the effects of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Here at Body Mentors, we’re able to offer sports massage therapy as an additional service in our on-site injury clinic.
How does sports massage work?
Strength training causes damage to your muscles, which your body responds to with adaptation and growth. It’s this breakdown of muscle fibres which causes DOMS. By introducing sports massage therapy after your workouts, we can help aid this process.
Sports massage therapy creates and releases pressure in the congested areas, which improves blood circulation — bringing oxygen rich blood, and improving the repair process. This can lead to faster recovery times, less soreness after a workout, and even improve the overall health of the muscles. Sports massage can also help to reduce tightness within a muscle, by applying pressure to specific points it can help to break down adhesions (knots).
A study back in 2015 looked at the effect of sports massage alongside resistance training. A group of 29 women were observed, with 15 of the group having a sports massage after training, whilst the remaining 14 didn’t. When surveyed about their muscle soreness on the following days, those who had sports massage recorded significantly lower scores than the participants who didn’t. The study also recorded vertical jump tests, illustrating that the sports massage group performed better. The study concluded that sports massages aided with a faster recovery and improved muscle efficiency post-exercise.
You can read the full study in the Human Movement journal by clicking here.
