May 16th, 2014 • Posted by Texas Ayurvedic Wellness Center and Holistic Spa • Permalink
Competitive sports are intense and minor injuries are a
common occurrence. Safe Kids USA estimates that about 3.5 million children a
year, aged 14 and under, suffer from some type of sports injury. However,
children aren't the only ones that experience sports strains. Although
professional athletes often have aches and pains associated with pushing their
bodies to the limit, sports injuries can also occur when a 40-something who hasn't
played basketball since high school decides to play an intense game and strains
a muscle. Sports injuries hit all ages and all levels of fitness.
Benefits of Massage in Treating and Preventing Injuries
Massage therapy helps relieve these minor injuries as well as ordinary aches
and pains. There are numerous benefits to massage therapy to treat sports
stress, including easing sore muscles so you can tell just how bad the injury
truly is and discover if you need to seek further treatment or simply rest a
strained muscle.
Promising Research Results
In a February, 2012 issue of Science Translational Medicine, results from a
Department of Kinesiology McMaster University study of athletes looked inside
the muscle to find out what happens during a massage.
The results showed that the muscle senses when it is being stretched and helps
reduce the "inflammatory response." This means that in addition to helping the
injured muscles feel better, a deep tissue massage may even help a muscle begin
to heal. In particular, massage may benefit injuries like back strains.
Get Flexible
Sports massages have been used in the past for more than just easing aches and
pains. Athletes use different types of massages to help increase flexibility as
well and may even get a massage before a workout or a big game. Increasing
flexibility may prevent injuries caused when unused muscles are put to extreme
use.
Other Benefits of Massage
In addition to the obvious benefits of massages, the McMaster University study
showed that the steady pressure from a professional massage can improve
circulation, blood pressure, heart rate and levels of cortisol.
