An effective Sports Massage Therapist not only requires an in depth understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body but must also have developed an acute understanding of the psyche of sports people and elite athletes. In many cases this understanding must expand beyond the individual athlete and will relate to a team environment.
Too often Sports Massage is ‘dumbed down’ and some therapist may not receive the depth of training that is necessary to safely operate in this field. In many cases the athletes, who present for treatment or ongoing management of their soft tissue and joint injuries, will be professional or semi professional. Their sport often is not only their livelihood but their passion. They come for recovery, treatment or injury management trusting that the therapist knows what they are doing.
It should be understood that Sports Massage involves much more the ‘pre event and post event massage’. As important as fully appreciating these phases is, there is much more that needs to be considered.
A good Sports Massage Therapist will need to be totally familiar with the:
• Phases of Injury Recovery and Management
• Phases of Training
• Massage techniques that will be appropriate during a sporting event
• Contra indications to massage.
(eg. never massage a corked thigh immediately after the occurrence of the injury)
• Sports Psychology
• Working effectively not only with the individual athlete, but also with a larger medical support team in the team enviroment.
• Current sports medicine research and the new improved best practice recovery and injury management protocols that arise from this research.
This is but some of the major key points of knowledge, skills and understanding that an effective Sports Massage Therapist needs to demonstrate.
In the hands of a skilled, knowledgeable and experienced therapist, athletes will recover more quickly from strong, sustained physical exertion and they will also respond and recover more quickly and thoroughly from injury.
There are many circumstances where team managers, coaches and athletes report wonderful results after treatment from experienced Sports Massage Therapist. Such is their value.
Many major sporting teams and elite athletes (including Olympic Athletes), incorporate talented Sports Massage Therapists in their support staff. Massage Works.
Sadly, in inexperienced hands not only would the athlete be ’short changed’, their whole sporting career could be placed in serious jeopardy. Question and seek out experienced Therapists.
Yours in health
Victor Solomon