My client base is ever-increasingly made up of athletes looking for deep tissue work. They include marathoners, cyclists, weight-trainers, boxers, swimmers and even a two-time Olympian and a pro golfer. While many think of sports massage as a fast-paced, short-duration massage they’ve seen practiced immediately before or after an event, it can also be integral to one’s training goals and recovery from injury.

Pre- and Post-Event

This vigorous massage covers alot of ground in a short period of time, usually 20-30 minutes, and is part of the warm-up and/or cool down period immediately before or after an event. The purpose beforehand is to increase circulation, thereby ‘feeding’ the muscles. This increased, passive stimulation neurally ‘turns on’ the muscles, getting them ready for heightened activity without expending any energy. When done properly, it can take the place of active stretching and warm-ups. Subsequently, post-event massage is about the cool down period. Muscle strains or spasms are encouraged to relax and lengthen while passive stretching can greatly help with recovery.

Deep Training

Deep tissue manipulation is best during the training process: cross-fiber friction at the tendons (muscle connections into bone), muscle adhesion dispersion, range-of-motion stretches and percussion at the belly of muscles for hard, tight (inflexible) muscle fibers. One can often experience soreness from this type of deep, soft-tissue manipulation work (but it should never be painful) as you integrate the body’s natural healing. Where there is soreness, there is increased cellular regeneration.

Acute Injury

Inevitably, athletes will deal with some type of acute injury from the increased demands they place on the body. Even overuse of muscles can fall into the injury category—resulting in intense spasms, loss of mobility at joints or even (gasp!) downtime from training. By now, most know that ice can be one’s best friend immediately after an injury or overuse. This can greatly decrease the swelling from inflammation and increase recovery time immensely. More severe injuries require medical attention, but ice is still the first line of defense in the meantime. Depending on the injury, massage is applied in the short, medium and/or long term to increase recovery time, address scar tissue and range-of-motion of joints.

The Triad of Physical Training

All physical training is made up of a combination of three factors: endurance, strength and flexiblity. Every sport requires some combination of these but some rely more heavily on one or two, like weightlifting or yoga. Don’t underestimate the others, however, in helping you. A good trainer will help an athlete develop in the most balanced way for their goals within the specific sport. Deep tissue massage also utilizes stretching and joint manipulation which helps best with flexibility. Strength and endurance are greatly enhanced by the manual manipulation of muscle fibers and other fascia.

Conclusion

Whether an amateur or professional athlete, one can greatly improve performance and recovery times with the assistance of massage therapy. Be sure to share with your therapist your weaknesses such as past injuries or noticeable pains, as well as your goals. And remember, sports can be as much about mental agility as it is physical. I’ve seen more setbacks and loss of training time attributed to subborn, unrealistic goals. The slow and steady really do win the race.

Rod Cain is owner/operator of
Rod Cain Massage Burlington Vermont