Do you guys use massage therapy?
(6 discussions)
Hi guys, I have recently graduated from massage therapy school. That being so, I am very interested in finding out how prevalent massage is among sports oriented people.
I am 24, and until two years ago when I started judo, I had never participated in any sports. So there are lots of things about the effects of sports on the human body that I need to learn.
My general question is, what is your experience with massage therapy? Either as a part of your training, rehabbing after an injury or event, or relaxation?
If you
6 comments
Rundown
The best kept secret for sports injury treatment is active release (massage) theraphy (ART). This really works.
I’ve had chronic calf/soleus strains for the past 8 years. Up until ~3 years ago I had always gone the traditional physiotheraphy route. Ultrasound, electric stimulation, hot/cold baths, heat pads, stretching….
But, this always just treated the symptoms and never the cause. I would always return after about 6 weeks with another injury and the cycle was repeated.
Then, I moved to Canada and was referred to an ART specialist. They found a lump of scar tissue the size of a golf ball deep in my calf. After several treatments that felt more like torture this was reduced to the size of a pea. I was then able to run further than 5KM for the first time in many years without experiencing calf strain. With routine maintenance I was able to increase both mileage and speed to the point where I could once again race over 10 km and do 1.5 hour long runs without injury. Then I moved from Canada to the USA and could not find anyone who practices ART in my area. They say they do but so far I haven’t found one that knows how to do the real thing(deep massage while working the muscle). And, without the ART I’m back to my 6 week pattern of sudden strains in the same calf. I have ruled out hydration, electrolites, stretching, & incorrect warm-up since I haven’t changed my routine in years and it has been working OK. The only variable is the lack of regular ART treatments.
My advice = learn ART & move to the USA!
teach05
I’ve had knee problems since I was about 12 and I finally went to see an OS when it got to be too much. It turned out my tracking was off in my knee caps and I have bad Q angles. The OS had me do pt and when I went the woman used massage mainly on my quads, calfs, and hamstrings to work out the tension and tight muscles. It tended to hurt a little at first because of the amount of pressure she had to apply to work the muscle, but it worked pretty well. Since then I’ve had arthro. w/ a lateral release on my right knee since it was the worse, and I still occasionally use the masage techniques she showed me. I think many people are and will be succeptable to massage therapy.
Sebastian
Massage can be very benefic when treating injuries, but it’s not always adviced. Usually, massage is better done after suffering minor injuries or after taking some time after injurying oneself seriously.
As for exercising, massage is a very good thing to do. I do it all the time before starting to warm up. It’s like a pre-warm up ritual for me because I noticed that I can avoid a lot of problems just by massaging my tendons, ligaments, muscles,etc. This holds true especially for the legs, feet and ankle that have to bear a lot of weight.
knt030
I just saw a massage therapist for the first time today. I’ve been plaqued with a knee problem and recently delevoped calf strain (both in the left leg). Turns out the leg is as tight as a bow string. She was great. I have another appt next week and plan on seeing her for a while.
exile
Personally I dont although I suspect it would help with various minor long standing problems I have (my lower back gets sore, doesnt feel like its straight suspect massage would help) I have mates who do occasionally, normally to deal with injuries they have sustained. main barrier is lack of treatment available on the NHS, would probably take ages to get one appointement let alone regular ones and other people have far more severe problems they could be spending their money on.
Trigirl
Triathlete here that competes in up to 10 tri’s a season- everything from sprint to 1/2 ironman. I swear by massage. I try to get one once every two weeks. The guy knows me and my lifestyle really well. He spends about 90 minutes working things out. Then he gives me some strecthes to work on the areas that were tight or sore. I find massage really works the junk out. And it is a build-up of junk that usually leads to chronic pain or injury. Also, I go to a doctor that does active release therapy. I use this about once a month, and if starting to bug me or seems like it could become trouble I’ll go about 2 times a week to nip it. This guy works on the scar tissue/adhesions and breaks it up. When I get lazy about this stuff or I don’t go I get injured. It’s as simple as that.