Now, here’s
good news – if you work out, massage is great for you! More and more
sports and fitness enthusiasts are including massage as a part of their
conditioning programs. It’s not just for the professional athlete or the person
who is training for the Olympics. Massage is for everyone and needs to be
looked at as a health benefit and not a luxury. People just like you and me are
including massage as part of their regular exercise programs. Almost anyone can
benefit from massage, athlete or not.
Commonly
known benefits include relaxation, improved circulation and relief of muscle
tension. Fitness enthusiasts/athletes will find that massage helps improve
their flexibility; muscles tend not to be as sore and stiff; it helps in their recovery
time, and reduces the anxiety of athletic competition. Massage can help improve
performance, increase endurance, and help lower fatigue levels. By reducing
fatigue, athletes can train better with longer more effective workouts. When
you choose massage or stretches between workouts, there is a high increase in
recovery time.
There are
many styles of massage around, so shop around and find the one that is best for
you. A few styles to look for that are good for people involved with an
exercise program are Swedish, Deep Tissue, Bamboo Fusion and Therapeutic
massage. Each is very different. A good massage therapist may use many
different styles and gear the massage toward your needs.
Article
modified from www.wholefitness.com
While the
benefits of massage after moderate to heavy exercise is widely accepted, there
have been studies performed that challenge certain commonly held
ideas such as massage removes lactic acid from muscles cells thus reducing pain
and soreness or massage aids in the recovery of muscle tissue by reducing
swelling and muscle fatigue. Listed below are two articles worth the time
involved to review and consider. After having done many pre and post sports
massages, I still advocate the benefit of massage for anyone involved in
routine moderate to heavy exercise.
Massage After
Exercise May Speed Muscle Recovery Massaging
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812213937.htm)
Phys Ed: Does
Massage Help After Exercise?
(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/phys-ed-does-massage-help-after-exercise/)
Melissa
Jarufe, LMT
December,
2011
