There are numerous benefits to sports back massage:
- Reduces the risk of injury during basic exercises;
- improves the overall performance of the athlete, even in the short term;
- increases pamping in muscle tissues, saturates them with oxygen;
- reduces strain on the heart and blood vessels;
- speeds up blood circulation;
- promotes the stimulation of blood flow;
- levels the negative impact of lactic acid on the human body, removes products of metabolism;
- relaxes muscles and relieves pain, fatigue;
- has a therapeutic effect in conditions of injury and stretching.
To explain what sports massage is, it is possible to study all the types of techniques that fall into this category. Each of the varieties of techniques is used to address a specific type of problem, but is equally necessary in conditions of intense physical activity.
The main varieties of massage
Sports massage originated in ancient Greece. Since then, this set of wellness measures has been transformed under the needs of modern athletes and divided into several types.
Classification of sports massage:
- Pre-training type – it affects those muscle groups that will be involved in training. Its main purpose is to prepare a muscle group for a workout, reducing the risk of injury, and reducing the time to warm up;
- training type – involves rubbing movements aimed at the muscles. With its help an athlete becomes more enduring, will be able to show better results in the last stages of the competition or training;
- Warm-up type (light massaging movements) – an additional warm-up, due to which all the muscles come into tone before the start of an important workout;
- Pre-start type – aimed at the deep muscle groups by affecting them. This technique allows the blood to disperse and improve the athlete’s performance at competitions;
- warming massage – is a rubbing of the working muscles. The technique is relevant for work in cold conditions and helps reduce the risk of injury during competitions;
- Restorative sports massage – a technique that is used after training or competition. It involves the impact of a mechanical nature on the worked muscle groups in order to reduce pain.
Sports massage technique is chosen individually for each athlete, taking into account the type of sport and working muscles, which are the main load. The most popular is the intensive post-training, restorative massage, which will help to achieve muscle relaxation, improve blood circulation. This technique involves:
- Implementation of movements of the masseur towards the main lymph nodes;
- Full relaxation of the athlete, which will work as much as possible nerve nodes;
- Moderately strong palpation without causing pain.
Properly performed sports massage will protect the athlete from rapid fatigue, the effect of overtraining, as well as accelerate the recovery process of the body.