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Sports Massage

What is sports therapy?

Despite the title ‘sports therapy’, one does not have to be an athlete, or indeed injured via sport  to benefit from a sports massage. It is a treatment which can be adapted to suit individuals of all ages and abilities. For instance people in physically demanding jobs experiencing general aches and pains. And those not quite so obvious occupational, emotional and work related postural stress, resulting in back, neck and shoulder pain. It is also effective as a maintenance treatment and aids recovery between physical activity and training sessions.

Can it help me?

The below list includes some symptoms in which sports massage can help:

Headaches

Backache 

Stiff Neck 

Knee Pain 

Tennis Elbow 

Golfers Elbow 

Sciatica 

Arthritis 

Skin Splints 

Repetitive Strain Injury 

Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

The benefits of a sports massage:

The release of muscle tension and pain 

Help in the removal of build up in lactic acid in the muscles

Reduce muscle soreness during recovery periods and speed up muscle repair. 

Reduce chance of injury due to muscle tightness 

Improve posture and flexibility 

Improve blood circulation and lymphatic flow 

Improve muscle function and tone

The Consultation

Your first consultation will take up to an hour and half so that Annette can make a full assessment of your health history and symptoms before commencement of ‘hands on’ massage. Please wear comfortable, loose clothing, sports wear is ideal, as a postural analysis is included and generally a few range of movement actions may be applied to enhance the treatment plan.

What to expect during a treatment

Often during a treatment you may be surprised to feel  other areas of discomfort which may be highlighted known as ‘referred pain’ and can be detected as damaged tissues feel different to healthy tissue.  I regularly use muscle trigger release, working directly on the tight muscle or area around the muscle to relieve the built up tension. They can occur in the belly of the muscle tissue. These 'knots' are built up throughout a person's life due to physical, mental, and/or emotional stress. During a session, focused pressure is applied through a variety of techniques in order to release your trigger points. This process can be quite painful at times, but very effective.

Annette will always explain what to expect during a treatment and ensure that you are comfortable, warm and covered throughout.

Dos and don't's

It is also a good idea to avoid eating a large meal just before a treatment. And bear in mind after the treatment that soreness is pretty common, and that plenty of water should be ingested to aid with the flushing and removal of toxins that will have been released from the deep tissue during the session.

Maintenance

Whilst an individual massage will have an instant effect, a course of between 3 to 8 sessions is often beneficial to give longer lasting results.

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