Anabolic Massage by Jerry Brainum 6/24

 

 

Many athletes incorporate some form of massage in their recovery programs. Sports Massage differs from standard massage styles because it's more intense and uncomfortable. Massage is often called a type of "bodywork" for the obvious reason that it involves work on the body. Sports massage aims to prepare the body for physical activity and ostensibly help it recover following intense physical activity. Massage has a long history of use, in that the ancient Greeks and Romans considered massage an essential component of physical training. However, with formal athletics, sports massage was recognized as a standard form of therapy by what was then called the Soviet Union, now Russia, in the early 60s. Soviet athletic teams had sports masseurs travel with their teams wherever they competed. Because of the success of Soviet athletes, sports massage spread to American athletic use in the 70s.

Athletic or sports massage is divided into two categories. Pre-event massage, as the name implies, is applied before athletic competition to prevent athletic injuries. It focuses on stretching and warming up muscles. It's also thought to increase blood flow to muscles and deliver a feeling of psychological readiness for the upcoming event. Post-event massage reduces muscle microtrauma induced by exercise or intense athletic activity. It also may reduce muscle swelling and hasten the removal of lactic acid. In the past, the accumulation of lactic acid following exercise was thought to be the primary cause of muscle soreness. But this isn't true, and the primary cause of post-workout soreness is trauma to muscle fibers that leads to a localized inflammation that produces pain sensations. Massage was also thought to help speed the healing of sports injuries by increasing blood flow to muscles and nutrient delivery. 

Sports massage involves using several types of techniques. Effleurage is a light stroking that can be performed with the palms or the thumbs. The pressure and speed is varied depending on the muscle and the desired result. Effleurage increases blood flow to the muscle. Petrissage is a form of two-handed kneading in which both hands pick up the muscle and compress it. This technique loosens tight bunches of muscles. Percussive strokes are blows or strikes on the muscle, often performed with the little fingers. They are used to tone the muscles. Cupping involves percussing or striking the muscles with cupped hands. It stimulates the skin and causes muscle contractions that help tone the muscles. The late trainer Charles Poliquin claimed to be able to help athletes break through training plateaus by using a more intense type of massage called myofascial release that involved using deep cross-fiber friction to separate muscle fibers and break down accumulated scar tissue that would serve to "free" the muscle and thereby allow . . .