What to expect?

Your first treatment will last for one hour and will include an initial assessment. This will aim to identify the injury, clearly inform you what the treatment will involve, as well as ascertain the number of required treatments.

You may also be given appropriate exercises to undertake in between treatments to aid recovery.

If a client requires regular maintenance treatments, there are two pre-paid booking options from which to choose both at discounted rates.

What is Sports Massage?

Sports Massage is the term applied to the discipline of using massage techniques for the benefit of all sports and exercise participants. It is not just for sporting athletes or people that undertake regular exercise. Desk-bound jobs, for example, can lead to muscular complaints and discomfort.

Sports massage techniques will include:
- Deep tissue manipulation
- Friction techniques
- Pressure point techniques
- Stretching techniques and advice

Sports Massage covers the management, manipulation and rehabilitation of soft tissues (muscles, ligaments and tendons). It will increase range of movement, flexibility and relieve muscle soreness. It can also assist in injury prevention and promote faster recovery from both training and injury.

How Sports Massage Can Benefit you?

POSTURAL IMBALANCES:

Postural imbalances can occur for a number of reasons, and can lead to bad posture and muscle complaints. After an extended period of postural imbalance, muscles can become chronic, and it may take time to address the complaint via deep tissue techniques, manipulation, and correctly performed exercise.

Typical areas affected by bad posture are:

- Shoulder / neck / upper thoracic pain
- Lower back pain
- Referred pain in legs

IMPROVE MUSCULAR FLEXIBILITY:

Sports massage stretches and mobilises muscles in order to improve the movement of an individual muscle or set of muscle groups. The breakdown of any muscle tightness, especially between the muscle fibres and fascial layers, will help with muscular flexibility. Routinely carrying out stretches of a particular muscle group will also aid the recovery process.

SPORTS INJURY / REHABILITATION:

Sports injuries are divided into three distinct stages: Acute, Sub-Acute and Chronic.

ACUTE:

This refers to the first 24-48 hours of an injury. Inflammation of the injury site will take place and this is known as the protective phase. Massage can be used to aid the following:

- Reduce any swelling
- Promote tissue repair
- Reduce muscle spasm
- Improve lymphatic drainage and venous return
- Restore range of movement
- Restore strength and function

SUB-ACUTE:

This is generally 48 hours after an injury has taken place. The body’s natural healing process will have commenced to reduce swelling and self-repair the affected area.

Massage can be used to aid the following:

- Removal of any swelling
- Promote tissue repair
- Improve lymphatic drainage
- Restore range of movement
- Restore strength and function

CHRONIC:

This time frame is after 48 hours. If an injury is left untreated it can cause chronic muscular imbalance, and scar tissue can be formed around the injury site affecting range of movement and function. Massage can be used to aid the following:

- Restore range of movement and function
- Reduce the build up of scar tissue
- Correct any muscular or postural imbalances

With all of the above mechanisms of injury and muscular discomfort that can take place, it is vital that the correct treatment is given to achieve a full recovery and restore lifestyle balance.