Exercise and Massage
We all know the
enormous benefits of exercise and moving the body. Anyone who routinely
pushes their physical limits through any movement,
sports, strength
training and aerobics can benefit from a massage.
Whether you are
a weekend warrior that fits in workouts between work and family or a
serious athlete,
massage in an important part of any sports regimen.
Sports medicine clinics and both professional and college athletic teams
use massage to heal and prevent the wear-and-tear
and minor injuries that
naturally occur with strenuous movement. The added physiological and
psychological benefits of massage also
add to the reasons to do it.
Heavily exercised
muscles may also lose their capacity to relax, causing chronically tight
(hypertonic) muscles,
and loss of flexibility. Lack of flexibility
is often linked to muscle soreness, and predisposes you to injuries,
especially muscle pulls and tears.
Blood flow through tight muscles is
poor (ischemia), which also causes pain.
Some benefits of massage for
exercise and injury prevention:
1.
Reduced chance of
injury by improving range of motion and muscle flexibility.
2.
Performance enhancing
results with improved power and performance.
3.
Shortened recovery
time between workouts.
4.
Maximizes the supply
of nutrients and oxygen through increased blood
flow and the elimination
of lactic acid in the muscle (a by-products of exercise).
Massage helps the body
recover from the stresses of strenuous exercise, and facilitates the
rebuilding phase of conditioning.
The physiological benefits of massage
include improved blood and lymph circulation and muscle and
general relaxation.
These, in turn, lead to removal of waste products and
better cell nutrition, normalization and greater elasticity of tissues,
deactivation of trigger points, and faster healing of injuries.
It all
adds up to relief from soreness and stiffness, better flexibility, and
less potential for future injury.
With regular massage
for maintenance the therapist can zero in on particular muscle groups and
work specific tissues,
they can help maintain or improve range of motion
and muscle flexibility.
The overall objective of a maintenance program is
to help you reach optimal performance through injury-free
training.
Regular massage also gives a therapist a chance to find your
unique trouble spots, perhaps from past injuries.
They can pay special
attention to these areas, monitor them for developing problems, and help
keep them in good condition.
An experienced massage therapist can also
compliment treatment received from other health care professionals for
various injuries.
Massage for injuries can speed healing and reduce
discomfort during the rehabilitation process.
Deep tissue and trigger
point massage breaks up the tissues in the muscle to speed recovery.
So to sum it up, make
massage part of your wellness and fitness routine.
You’ll get all the
benefits of relaxation and if you’re that more intense
personality,
remember, you can push yourself a little harder with less
injuries and get in shape a little faster.