Sports Massage:

Each sport has its own characteristics and sports massage is geared at helping the athlete manage his training routines, performance and recovery. Pre-event, post-event and training massage each has their own focus to help you achieve your best results and avoid injuries.

Each sport creates a different stress on the body: skiing and golf involves dynamic forces and torque in the upper torso; running puts up to 1500 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure on the joints of the lower extremities; team sports such as football, soccer and basketball are contact sports requiring speed and agility. Even if you're not a professional athlete you subject yourself to the same g-forces, stresses and potential injuries that pros must deal with. Massage can help in several ways:

Pre-event massage is geared for the athlete in training. It Warms you up just prior to an event. This is a more dynamic type of massage. It usually involves a lot of stretching, compression, jostling: it "wakes up" the muscles and gets blood flowing to them getting them ready to work.

Post-event massage occurs immediately after the event. The purpose of this type of massage is to help you recover from the event faster. It helps keep you limber, helps your body shed excess lactic acid (which is what gives you the 'burning' feeling after a workout) and can help prevent injury by reducing swelling.

Training Massage occurs during your training cycle to help you improve your workouts by speeding recovery time, flushing toxins out of the body and reducing swelling. Potential injuries and weaknesses in the body are identified and targeted treatments are applied. An example: a runner getting shin splints. There are specific massage techniques that can help reduce shin splints faster, getting you back on the track sooner.

If you'd like more information about the value of Sports Massage, go to Brian Mackenzie's Coach's website.