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What is Sports Massage? And Should You Get It?



Exercise is always a benefit for your body. We keep up our exercise sessions to maintain our health, reduce the risk of diseases, and improve our overall strength. However, despite all those benefits, you may still experience muscle aches, soreness, or even joint injuries from your exercise.

While general massages may help relieve your overall pain, if you have pain in a specific area, a ‘sport massage’ is one of the best therapy you can take. But exactly what is it? Let’s start by looking at the details!


What is Sports Massage?

As the name suggests, ‘sports massage’ was initially developed to aid athletes, to prepare them for optimal performance and recovery after a sports event or training exercise. However, contrary to the general misconception, you do not have to be a professional athlete to benefit from sport massage. This particular form of therapy can also be extremely beneficial to anyone who leads an active life, has a regular exercise routine, or has a physically demanding lifestyle.

In a sport massage therapy session, the therapist will ask about your health and lifestyle for an initial assessment to decide on the most appropriate therapy plan.

With that said, unlike deep tissue or Thai massage, sport massages are not performed across your whole body, but rather a specific area that is posting a problem, such as a stiff shoulder, pulled hamstring, or certain muscle groups that are stressed from repetitive movements. A therapist would focus on your soft connective tissues such as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Certain therapists may utilize techniques, such as pressure points to break down adhesion in the muscles or physiotherapy and osteopathy to help with certain problems that normal massage cannot.


The Benefits of Sport Massage Therapy

You may have already realized the general benefits of a sport massage. After all, it is a massage designed to help athletes and those who experience heavy activities. Here is a list of some benefits your will gain from sport massage:

  • Relaxation - A sport massage is used as part of a specific recovery of certain muscle areas. For those who exercise or athletes that train regularly, sports massage will significantly reduce tension in the muscles that have been stressed or over-extended for a long period of time. Thus, giving a sense of relaxation like lifting a weight off your shoulders.

  • Injuries Recovery - A destructive injury or physical strain can take a long time to recover. Every sport massage therapy session can be tailored to different injuries, facilitating the body in recovering faster from exercise.

  • Better Circulation - The stroking movement of massaging would open a microcirculation, increasing blood flow to muscle tissues and stimulating nutrients and energy to repair muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

  • Removal of Toxins - When the muscles are engaged for long periods of time, lactic acid can build up. An increase in lactic acid can cause painful knots and uncomfortable binding across the body. This significantly hinders athlete performances and even normal everyday movements. Sports massage therapy helps work and loosen the muscle fibres to relieve lactic acid, as well as other painful toxins in the muscles and other tissues so that the body can remove and discard them more efficiently.

Apart from said benefits, sport massage also help improves athlete performance, improve posture and flexibility, minimise risks of sports-related injuries, and helps you warm up or cool down before and after strenuous activity.


What is the Difference Between Deep Tissue and Sports Massage?

If you are confused between a deep tissue massage and a sport massage, we will clarify them for you.


Generally, deep tissue massage is developed with the purpose of relieving muscle tension, relieving stress, and reducing stiffness. It is also administered as a ‘full body’ massage for the overall relaxation of your whole body.

On the contrary, sport massages are aimed toward specific parts of the body that are experiencing pain, repetitive sprains or strains, and injuries that occur from exercise or sport session. Furthermore, it is more suited for those who engage in regular physical activity.

Simply put, if you wish to experience an overall relief for your body, a deep tissue massage is the way to go. But if you tend to perform a repetitive physical task or have recurring pain in the same area, the sport massage is probably the best choice for you.


Best Place to Get a Sport Massage at Nuad Thai Boran

From all the benefits of a sport massage mentioned above, you might wish to try out a session for yourself. If you are within the Leeds area you can find us, Nuad Thai Boran, a leading Thai Massage in Leeds, is ready to provide you with the best massage experience. Our services include a sport massage, deep tissue massage, Spa in Leeds, etc. all performed by certified professional therapists. We aim to provide you with the best relaxation and comfort in every minute of your massage session.

Book a session with us and enhance a sense of your overall well-being.

Call us: 07534274897

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