Massage isn’t just for relaxing or recovering from injury; it is also a highly effective tool for aiding your training and exercise. Whether you’re an elite professional or are just trying to get in shape, everyone can benefit from massage in a number of ways.
Improve performance
Massage can boost your performance in a number of ways. It helps to improve blood circulation, not only during the massage but also in general as it makes circulation more efficient. This means more oxygen is delivered to your muscles during your workouts, helping you to last longer and be quicker. Massage also improves the flexibility of your muscles and range of motion around your joints. This can help you to move easier and achieve a better range of movement.
Prevent injury
Massage helps to make your muscles more flexible and reduce any tension in them, just like stretching before a workout does. It does this through the pressure applied to the muscles and surrounding tissues, helping them to become suppler and more pliable. As a result, massage helps to prepare your muscles for exercise, making injuries like tears and strains less likely to occur.
Speed up recovery
Similarly, you should always stretch after a workout to reduce soreness and chances of injury in the coming days. Anyone who’s experienced DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) knows that it can make training extremely difficult for the next two or three days, depending on how intense your workout was. Massaging the muscles helps to speed up your recovery time and alleviate pain by reducing tension in your muscles and also boosting blood flow to the muscles, meaning more oxygen and essential nutrients are delivered to them. This means you can get back on it sooner, which also goes for recovery after injury.
Psychological benefits
Sport and exercise are not just physical; the psychological component is also very important. Having the motivation to keep going and the ability to manage stress levels in high-pressure situations, such as games and competitions, helps you to train and perform better over time. The well-known relaxation benefits of massage can help with this aspect of sports performance, preparing you for exercise mentally as well as physically.
If you take part in a sport, go to the gym, or like to keep fit in other ways, massage can help you do more and achieve better results. Get in touch to find out more about our different types of massage or go online to book a massage with us today.