Today's article will be about sports massage, which is a valuable means of regeneration, especially for athletes. We can ask ourselves why athletes have a special massage, how it differs from others and whether non-athletes can also enjoy it.
An athlete can logically refer to a person who is engaged in sports. Normally, however, an athlete is understood as one who runs the sport at the top, or at least efficiently, and not just recreationally and occasionally. However, this designation is only terminological, it does not reduce the casual athlete in any way.
Sport should bring us joy and we should also enjoy it. Unfortunately, today's top sports environment wishes maximum performance at the limit of human possibilities, which is often a damage to health, sometimes with permanent consequences. On the other hand, it goes without saying that only the one who gives the maximum performance can win. So the important thing is how the athlete is prepared to give the best possible performance. In order for an athlete to be able to perform well, comprehensive care is needed for his physical and mental side. Today, it is common for top athletes to have a large technical team around them. An important member of such a team is, among other things, a good masseur. The care of a masseur, ie the regeneration of the whole body, is necessary mainly during races and especially during longer meetings, when the athlete enters more races. The goal is to keep the athlete in the best shape possible. This means eliminating fatigue as quickly as possible and avoiding possible injuries.
A little bit of history
The father of sports massage can be considered the Roman physician Claudia Galena (131 - 201 AD).
We owe him the greatest development of sports massages. He was a gladiator doctor who was the first to make targeted use of massage as part of physical education. He used massage to prepare gladiators for the match and to regenerate after a "fight". He massaged constantly and by adapting his training he was able to strengthen his muscles and prepare gladiators for high performances.
Modern sports massage experienced another large and independent development in the 19th century. The founder was Peer Henrik Ling, who reworked a primitive ancient massage, which he became acquainted with on his travels and whose beneficial effects he tasted on his skin. In Sweden, he founded the Central Institute for Gymnastics, which became a sought-after training center for masseurs. Since then, a number of massage schools have been established, which are dedicated to both sports massages and other massages.
Unfortunately, the 20th century limits the mass spread of sports massage due to economic conditions. Only rich clubs or wealthy individuals could afford a sports massage. Before the WWI, it was performed only rarely, in the form of a self- massage. Even the end of the war did not allow such an expansion among athletes, which was supposed to. Sports massage was not revived until after the WW II, when it was included in the teaching of physical education schools and courses.
Goals of sports massage
Setting sports massage goals for a particular athlete is an important task for a masseur. Based on the goals that the masseur wants to achieve with massage, he also chooses the force, speed, strength and depth of the guided touches. Therefore, the massage can range from very light touches, which have a calming effect, to strong touches, which are supposed to affect the tissues stored deeper.
The most commonly used sports massage is:
- in preparation for sports performance
- as an aid during warm-up or during prolonged exercise
- as an aid to stretching
- as an aid to post-exercise recovery processes
- to support wound healing
- to induce mental well-being and relaxation
The effects of sports massage
The effects can be local or general. Local effects include improved blood circulation to the skin, removal of the stratum corneum on the skin (the sebaceous and sweat glands open), improved lymph outflow in the lymphatic system, and improved blood circulation in the muscles, which speeds up regeneration. Sports massage can also affect muscle tone. On the one hand, it can increase it if the masseur uses coarser touches (stronger vibrations, strong wiping, harder kneading), or we can reduce it with a gentle massage.
The overall effects relate to the blood circulation. The massage therefore supports the heart and improves blood circulation in other organs (kidneys, lungs). Another significant effect is a neuropsychological effect on the body, ie relaxation, elimination of fatigue, improvement or adjustment of sleep.
Other effects that we can expect from sports massage are mechanical, physiological, reflex and psychological.
Types of sports massages
Preparatory massage
This massage can also be called hygienic, fitness or training. It is used for athletes who have had to reduce or interrupt their training load. We classify this massage in the period when the athlete is not able (eg due to injury) to exercise and his performance is reduced. The aim is to accelerate the adaptation of the athlete's body to the training effort after an injury or long-term illness.
The massage can also be used by the masseur as part of training regeneration in the racing, main and transition periods. In combination with suitable physical activity, it has a tonic effect. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of training and to support and maintain psychophysical fitness.
Emergency massage (pre-event)
The aim of the emergency massage is to improve the athlete's preparation for exercise. The masseur performs it just before the sports performance, for the muscle groups that will be most stressed. This massage is basically exclusively partial and it is necessary for the masseur to adjust it individually according to the needs of the athlete and according to the desired effects.
Emergency massage can be irritating or soothing. Their main difference is in the intensity, speed and rhythm of the touches used. The irritating type of massage is intended to arouse the muscles and psyche of an athlete who manages pre-start stress well and who warms up hard and slowly. On the contrary, the soothing type of masseur is chosen for athletes who are subject to pre-start stress.
Massage during breaks between performances
As the name suggests, the massage is performed between individual performances and should contribute to a better performance after a break. The aim is to refresh the athlete and increase his work performance in the next sports performance. This massage is usually performed in a time press and often directly on the sports field. It is a combination of a partial massage that removes fatigue and an emergency massage.
Fatigue removing massage (post event)
The aim is to improve and speed up recovery after sports performance. It is performed either partially or completely (whole body). It is not advisable to perform the massage immediately after the procedure. How long it is appropriate to use the massage depends on the amount of fatigue. The basic time range can thus be 30 minutes to several hours. It is good to end the massage with a rest regime, which can also be in the form of sleep. The massage can be characterized as a calm, gentle and slow massage, during which the masseur processes and massages all muscle groups and individual muscles.
A good sports masseur can accurately estimate the needs of an athlete and individually use the appropriate type of sports massage to achieve the best possible regeneration and participate in appropriate sports training. Every athlete should indulge in a quality regeneration of his stressed body in order to ensure the best possible health condition that will allow him to perform well.