Sports Massage

Sports Massage Techniques

At Ten, we use a number of different Sports Massage techniques (or modalities), some of the most common include:

• – Effleurage

  A variety of stroking movements usually carried out with the palm of the hand and fingers. It can be used with varying pressure and speed according to the purpose and stage of the massage.

  It is most commonly used at the start and finish of a session, and its purposes are to relax the client, warm the tissues, relax the muscles, allow the therapist to sense the condition of the muscles and tissues, stimulate the nerves and increase lymph and blood flow.

• – Petrissage

  The basic Petrissage movement is a ‘kneading’ movement designed to compress and then release the soft tissue, using either direct pressure or by picking up and squeezing the skin and muscle.

  It is is generally used to have a deeper effect on soft tissue than Effleurage, and includes kneading, squeezing, and other loosening techniques. The benefits of Petrissage include increased mobility between tissue layers, stretching of muscle fibres, muscle relaxation, improving blood and lymphatic flow and aiding with the removal of waste products.

• – Myofascial release

  A repetitive technique designed to stretch, loosen, soften and lengthen muscle tissue. Strokes are applied with gentle pressure along the muscle fibre and held for a short period of time to fully stretch the muscle, then repeated until the muscle is entirely relaxed.

  Myofascial release is designed to free up fascia that may be impeding on blood vessels or nerves and improve circulation and nervous system transmission. Results include a decrease in muscle tightness, increased range of motion and reduction in pain in the affected area.

• – Deep Tissue Massage

  Relieves chronic tension of soft tissue, and can improve flexibility, range of motion and posture. As the name suggests, the focus is on the deepest layers of muscle tissue, tendons and the fascia (the protective layer surrounding muscles and joints). Despite what many people believe, Deep Tissue Massage does not need to be painful, although firmer pressure is often needed to encourage tight areas to release.

• – Trigger Point techniques

  Usually applied to particularly aggravated areas, often where there is referred pain or tenderness, trigger point therapy can eliminate pain and re-educate the muscles into pain-free habits. A long-term treatment, after a few sessions it can reduce swelling, stiffness and tension to improve circulation, flexibility and co-ordination. Counter-intuitively, while this technique can be uncomfortable, it can simultaneously feel good and will clearly highlight the source of the discomfort.

• – Deep Friction Massage

  This technique can be used as an alternative to trigger point pressure. Rather than a single point of pressure on the affected area, firm strokes are applied across the grain of the muscle to provide pain relief to increase blood flow, promote healing and reduce pain. Deep friction massage can also be used to break up scar tissue.

• – Muscle Energy techniques

  This technique lengthens shortened or spasmed muscles, strengthens weakened ligaments and muscle, and increases range of motion. The client will be asked to contract the muscle for a few seconds against an anti-force applied by the therapist, stretching the muscle. This is then repeated a number of times to apply the full effect of the technique to the muscle.

Your Massage Therapist will generally use several of these techniques at different stages of a massage to provide the best treatment for you. As a result, the selection and order of these techniques will vary from client to client and massage to massage.