Whether you favour high intensity workouts or a gentler yoga or Pilates session, sports massage has a range of benefits to offer various people.
Sports massage is commonly used by athletes and is a popular technique involving applying different types of pressure on the body. It’s designed specifically to treat musculoskeletal injuries, pain and soft tissues injuries.
Here are some benefits of sports massage you may not know about:
Helps prevent injury
Being a deep tissue massage, a sports massage is great for anyone struggling with pain or discomfort in a specific area. It boosts blood flow, bringing more oxygen and nutrients to help your body heal and recover faster.
It’s also used as a preventative treatment by breaking down adhesions; small bundles of collagen fibres, helping to decrease muscle tightness and increase movement.
Supports good posture
If you’re sat behind a desk for long periods of the day and not sitting correctly, your muscles can shorten and pull your joints into positions. Over time, this can reduce function and increase the chances of repetitive strain injuries. Sports massage can help with this by both reducing pain and increasing your range of movement.
Maintaining a good posture is also a great way to ease pressure on our joints, it prevents irritating aches and pains springing up and can even make us feel better mentally and emotionally.
Reduce headaches
Headaches and migraines are often caused by muscular tension through poor posture of the head, neck and shoulders. When these muscles tighten, it can constrict the nerves and blood vessels which travel through them and up into the head.
Sports massage can help to relax these muscles and improve blood flow, which can make a big difference for tension‑related headaches.
Stress buster
Like any massage, sports massage encourages relaxation. It helps release endorphins, the ‘feel‑good’ hormones that can ease pain, boost your mood and help reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress. So, why not give a sports massage a go?
Handy Health Cover gives money back on the cost of sports massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment as well as lots other everyday health costs.
