Have the summer holidays taken their toll? Is your athletics or triathlon race season over for another year? Is your body in need of some TLC?
If the answer to any of the above is YES, then its time you booked in for a Sports Massage at The Osteopathic Clinic, Croydon!
One of the oldest forms of massage dating from early martial arts in the far east to the ancient Greek and Roman games. Homer writes in the poem 'The Odyssey of Greek soldiers being rubbed with oils to aid their recovery and regain strength on return from battle, with Roman gladiators being prescribed massage before and after exercise.' A Dutch practitioner Johan Georg Mezger developed ‘Swedish’ massage as we know it today, and adopted terms such as ‘effleurage’ ‘petrissage’ and ‘tapotement’ for the basic strokes used also in sports massage.
Sports massage
Sports massage sn’t just for elite sportsmen and women. Yet it is often misunderstood as a treatment modality because “I don’t do a sport”, and “aren’t they really painful”. Quite simply, sports massage can be beneficial to anyone regardless of athletic ability or exercise participation. So whether you are training for a race, visit the gym regularly, enjoy gardening, or have a desk-based office job, a regular sports massage can help to keep your body feeling great, and keep injuries at bay.
The benefits of Sports Massage are widespread and can include:
- Increased muscle blood flow
- Raised muscle temperature
- Increased lymph flow and the removal of toxins from the muscles
- Break down of adhesions and scar tissue which builds up over time causing tension
- Relieves muscular pain
- Physiological and psychological preparation for a race or event
- A positive sense of wellbeing, relaxation and lowered stress levels.
- Improved sleep patterns.
So if the summer holidays have been hectic, you’ve had a few hard races this year, or you are feeling neck or back stiffness from sitting at your desk for too long, maybe its time to give your body a well-earned treat and get those niggles ironed out.
Contact The Osteopathic Clinic, Croydon for appointment availability.
Written by Rhea Malkin BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy MSST and STOTT Pilates Reformer Instructor.