For the next few weeks I have the pleasure of turning over the Monday blog post to one of my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp clients and my massage therapist, Amanda Mazzocchi. Amanda is the owner of Restore Therapuetic Massage in Eden Prairie, MN.
There are countless health benefits to receiving therapeutic massage, both preventative and curative. Since you, like me, are boot-campers, I will narrow the focus and explain how therapeutic massage can help people who work out regularly and vigorously. I’ve chosen three—all with a common theme of keeping injury from interfering with your fitness results. These will be presented as a three-part series.
Today, I will focus on the fact that massage is very effective in treating overuse syndromes—reducing and preventing injury.
Muscles are built through a process of tearing down and rebuilding stronger than before. When a person is weight training, they are literally creating microscopic tears in a muscle. This is why at the end of a set, they can’t lift any more, and why the next day they feel soreness. The result of this exercise is that the body naturally repairs and rebuilds the muscle, making it stronger than it was before—bodybuilding in a nutshell.
Muscle Fibers Rebuilt Bigger and Stronger
Though this is a natural and very positive occurrence, there are times in any training program where the repair might not be keeping pace with the tearing down. The result: pain from overuse.
Massage is very restorative to muscles in this cycle. Tight and strained muscles have very poor blood flow, and the metabolic waste and lactic acid from the tearing-down process remain in the tissue, causing soreness. Massage greatly increases blood flow, literally flushing out the waste products and bringing in a new blood supply which carries the oxygen and nutrition the muscle needs to help it repair itself.
Massage helps to keep the symptoms from increasing and ultimately creating an overuse injury that would require a period of rest - thus, interfering with fitness results!
Sports Massage is a critical part of any athletic or fitness training program. It is, however, important to distinguish sports and therapeutic massage from a relaxation massage or spa treatment. In order to receive maximum training benefit, the therapist must have an extensive understanding of anatomy, physiology, and injury in order to bring about improvement, rather than simply relaxation.
And, to clear up a common misconception, sports massage doesn’t have to be painful—it has to be specific (i.e. working each muscle from origin to insertion, rather than just rubbing over a body part). While strained muscles can be tender, the client is always “in the driver’s seat” as it relates to pain and pressure. Massage is not a matter of “no pain, no gain”—it is very definitely possible to receive massage that is too deep. You should always feel much better after your massage, not sore! While receiving massage, always feel free to ask your therapist for more or less pressure. Again, finding a knowledgeable and experienced therapist is the key.
Whether with my practice or another source, I strongly encourage you to
experience how effective therapeutic massage can be!
source: chaskaherald
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