Phil's Sports Massage

Posted by Nell Mead at 16:33 on 26 Aug 2011

Hi everyone! I’m Phil – I used to be a Royal Marine, but now I’m just about to qualify as a sports massage therapist, and this is my first blog post for Victory. As a keen bean student, I’m turning into a bit of a sports massage geek and for my first post I thought I’d share some of the things I’m learning on my sports massage course. So, here we go: one crash course in sports and remedial massage therapy coming up!

What is it? It’s just massage. It’s been practiced and documented since the beginning of time. It’s still about because it works. As researchers have learned more and more about anatomy and general science, they’ve been able to tell us more about why it works – which has helped massage practitioners to develop a range of different techniques. Here are some of the techniques I apply here at Victory:

• Effleurage – large area strokes for warm up, prepping the soft tissues for deeper work
• Petrissage – kneading, further softening up a more specific area
• Friction – very deep technique used on a single point of scar tissue and adhesions
• Neuromuscular technique (NMT) – an extension of deep friction to release trigger points and other tension caused by the nervous system
• Muscle energy techniques (METs) – using the client’s own muscle energy to release tension and lengthen muscle fibres
• Tapotement – chopping and clapping for a pre-event wake up and energising
• Soft tissue release (STR) – a hybrid containing several other techniques for quick and effective release of soft tissue tension

Later in my course, I’m looking forward to learning more techniques such as connective tissue manipulation, strain-counter-strain and acupressure.

So why is it called *sports* massage? You don’t have to be an active sportsperson to have a sports massage. It’s just a phrase we use to distinguish the deeper, more treatment-based massage from a more superficial “relaxation” or “beauty” massage. Everybody uses their muscles and moves, and everybody has micro-traumas, tension, scarring, adhesions and trigger points in their tissues that can be released by the correct application of the techniques I’ve mentioned. Nine out of ten “sports injuries” are, after all, not as a direct result of the respective sport. They are a result of postural imbalances and pre-existing soft tissue problems in the participants’ bodies. The uncontrolled nature of many sports just turns these problems into acute injuries.

And why should I have a sports massage? Virtually every professional sportsperson incorporates regular sports massages into their training regime because it helps their performance, helps to prevent injury by maintaining soft tissue compliance, and improves their recovery. So if you’re serious about your training, maybe you should learn from the professionals. And if you’re not working hard in the gym, I’ll bet you’re working hard in the office. Humans really aren’t designed to sit on chairs and poke at computers all day, and our bodies develop tension and imbalances as a result. Sports massage – particularly when it’s combined with activities like yoga – can help to redress the balance and to keep you on top form for longer.

How is a Victory sports massage different from a spa massage? It’s easy to give a ‘nice relaxing’ pamper. On request, I’ll happily play ‘crashing waves’ on the iPod and leave you feeling sleepy and without a care in the world. However, I get my job satisfaction when a client stands up and the end of a treatment in a physically better state than when they walked in. You might well feel some discomfort when I’m applying deep friction and NMT, and I won’t give you a cup of green tea and a fuzzy robe at the end of it – but once I’m done with you, you’ll feel great, and I’ll recommend the most amazingly large burrito around the corner at Poncho’s.

Phil is available to provide sports massage at Victory on Friday afternoons, and at other times on request. You can follow his adventures on Twitter, and you can book an appointment with him here.