Getting a sports massage helps eliminate pain and discomfort after any intense physical activity. Apart from relaxing the body, massages also give you physical and psychological benefits. Sports massages were done in order to promote recovery among physically active people.
Sports massages are different from the usual massages you get in spas because it utilizes deep stretches and fast muscle stimulation. However, how effective this type of massage will depend on what kind of sport you are active in. Sports enthusiasts often use this type of massage as a pre-training routine or post-training care. Many use a Hydragun to give themselves this massage.
Let’s go over the various benefits of sports massage and how it helps improve your physical activity:
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Improves Flexibility
Every person – athlete or not – works hard to be at their physical best. The downside is, daily training and intense sporting activities does take a huge toll on the muscles. Participating in rigorous activity and training for long hours also cause rigidity in the muscles. The advantage is, a sports massage can help relax tense and stiff muscles and improve the flexibility of the body.
Getting a sports massage prior to a sporting event can assist in enhancing one’s performance, boost flexibility in the body, as well as relax tense and stiff muscles. Getting this type of massage a few hours before a sporting activity will also improve one’s mobility as this will boost the flow of blood flow to muscle tissues and fascia.
A sports massage can also improve the movement of a person’s joint through stretching and lengthening the muscles. Sports massages enable improved movements between the fluid within the joints as well as. This is not at all that different from when you put oil in your car – as it allows the fluids in your body to move better.
Helps you relax
Getting a sports massage also provides several mental advantages, and this includes allowing one’s mind to go to a meditative state. Massages – whether done by a therapist or done on your own using a percussion massager – aids in clearing and restoring the mind.
It is simpler to focus and sort through the mind’s clutter when a person is in a state of meditation. Relaxation can also aid in improving an athlete’s performance. In addition, a focused and physically relaxed athlete is capable of standing out in competitive sports.
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Blood circulation is improved
When your muscles are in a relaxed state, there is an increase in blood pressure. This increase in blood supply to your muscles enables the efficient transport of nutrients as well as eliminates toxins from your muscles and body such as lactic acid. Improved blood circulation also cuts down the risk of physical injury and improves the recovery period.
Relieves stress
Your body would not be able to perform at its peak when it is under stress. Stress in this sense can be either fatigue from intense physical activities, or mental unrest. Fortunately, sports massages can assist in relieving stress after a tough work week as well as avoid physical injuries. Moreover, it helps improve one’s immune system.
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Eliminate muscle soreness
Your muscles sustain damage – micro tears- after any kind of rigorous physical activity. Although these micro-tears are not super serious, they do cause swelling inflammation that comes with repairing these tiny tears during a person’s recovery.
In any case, these micro-tears are what causes the pain or discomfort after playing a game or after a workout. A sports massage helps enhance the flow of and flushes waste like lactic acid and speeds up muscle recovery.
Relieves pain
Increase in the blood flow going to the muscles can effectively cut down pain that is caused by swelling. Sports massage is effective at loosening tense muscles and relieving muscle stiffness. This type of massage is also effective at eliminating and reducing pain and injuries that can negatively affect athletic performance.
A sports massage is also effective at relieving muscle swelling and tension as well as reducing fatigue. Tension usually builds in the body’s soft tissues after any rigorous physical activity. Massages help an athlete avoid pain and injuries that can negatively affect their sports performance.
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Improves sleep
Sports massage also promotes relaxation and lowers tension, which provides a night of quality, long sleep. Good sleep quality is quite important in the overall performance of athletes as well as their speedy recovery from any injury.
Lowers mental stress
Sports massage pushes the body to produce the happy hormone – endorphin. It is a hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland and is known as a natural pain reliever. Apart from relieving pain, endorphins improve an athlete’s mood, enhances well-being and eases anxiety.
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Quick Recovery
A sports massage boosts recovery of damaged tissues like tendons and ligaments. It also guarantees that the damaged tissues recover correctly. A sports massage also aids athletes’ recovery from scars to keep their mobility even when they have an injury. Sports massage has always helped improve blood circulation, repairing the tissues and muscles injured during strenuous training.
Increases Supply of Nutrients and Oxygen
During intense activity, your body requires more oxygen and nutrients. Since sports massage aids in improving blood flow to your muscles, it also boosts the transport of oxygen and nutrients where your muscles need them.
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Removes Wastes from the Body
When you do intense exercise, lactic and carbonic acid builds up in your muscle tissues. Energy is produced in the muscles through this metabolic process, and energy is kept in the body’s glycogen stores.
Lactic acid and carbonic acid are produced as wastes in this process. This acid in the muscles can cause inflammation. But improvement in blood circulation can help your body get rid of these by-products. Athletes need to increase fluid intake after an intense workout in order to speed up the removal of these waste by-products.
Many people believe that a sports massage is only for athletes competing at professional levels. However, plenty of medical research has determined that even non-athletes benefit from sports massage.
As a matter of fact, anyone doing any type of strenuous activity can benefit from sports massages, which includes pain brought on by tense muscles. It aids in speeding up muscle recovery, boosts oxygen and nutrient supply and help you perform at your best all the time.
