Sports massage: sports recovery or self care?

Initially when someone books a sports massage appointment with me for the first time, it’s usually because they have a specific ache or pain that has been troubling them, usually for some time, and as is often the case a friend or colleague has recommended them to give me a try as a remedy to their problem. Sports massage by nature is very specific in targeting areas of soft tissue that feel restrictive or uncomfortable, but something I have noticed over the years is that the feeling of well-being that customers get as a result of the treatment often leads them to make a sports massage more of a routine thing to do, whether it be monthly, quarterly or fortnightly. 

Now, some people would suggest that if they are coming back to see me repeatedly then it must not be doing them any good, but this is where a lot of people don’t understand that it’s not always about a specific muscular issue because the human body moves as one complete neuromuscular unit, where a small issue on one area can have an effect on other areas of the body due to compensatory effects, which in turn can leave a person feeling in a low mood and ‘de energised’ as a result. 

I would never suggest that a customer ‘needs’ to see me on a regular basis, it’s simply a matter of choice for them and as most people that I have treated have busy work and family lives as well as being physically active through certain sports or general exercise, they start to find that my specific style of therapy works well for them as a balance to the other aspects of their daily lives. 

From the perspective of self care, one observation that I’ve made over the last 13 years doing thousands of deep tissue sports massage treatments is that most people carry tension in their back, be it lower, mid and upper back and neck area, and this is quite often caused by a hectic work/life schedule, and although people who haven’t had a sports massage before may not initially think that it can help them, in actual fact it will be more helpful than most kinds of treatment that are available, because the way that I work is both specific and precise in certain areas, but I also apply a lot of pressure more generally over larger areas, which definitely leaves you feeling perhaps a bit spaced out afterwards, but nevertheless feeling good for the days ahead! 

Jim