Massage Therapy

Optimizing Athletic Performance

For athletes, massage can both enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury by balancing muscle groups and increasing joint mobility. The process of lengthening contracted muscles and releasing myofascial adhesions is rarely a one-shot deal, and serious athletes may need two or more sessions a week to stay in top shape. Many professional teams have therapists on staff for that very reason, but the more casual athlete may not have the resources to be massaged that often.

For the average athletic person, it depends on your training schedule and whether or not you haven chronic muscle issues. One or two massages a month may be enough during lighter training periods, increasing frequency as workouts intensify.

Never schedule deep tissue massage less than five days before a big event. It can cause soreness and changes in body mechanics that can throw you off your game. Stick with circulation-boosting massage such as Swedish or Abhyanga immediately before and after a big event—it helps flush out lactic acid build-up and speeds recovery.

Injury/Surgery Recovery

Massage is often recommended after injury or surgery. It can help:
• Reduce pain, minimizing the need for pain medication
• Inhibit swelling by moving lymph
• Break up scar tissue
• Hasten the healing process by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen

Always check with your doctor before getting a massage. It may not be the best treatment option after an injury or surgery or may be limited to particular modalities. For example, deep tissue massage would be a bad idea for someone on blood thinners or with an acute injury, but lymphatic drainage massage could be helpful. Once you’re given clearance, two sessions a week or more may be needed to start, with frequency decreasing as healing and recovery progress.

Additional benefits of prenatal massage include:

• Providing an overall sense of well being
• Improving sleep
• Increasing oxygenation of muscles and tissues
• Hormone regulation (which is linked with lower stress levels)
• Pain relief
• Reduction of swelling (edema)
• Relieving anxiety and stress
• Lower incidence of depression (which might have been the result of an increase in dopamine and serotonin levels)
• Lower levels of anxiety
• Less back and leg pain
• Decreased levels of cortisol (the stress hormone)
• Lower rate of postpartum depression

Lymphedema Massage benefit

The lymphatic system plays a key role in the body’s immune defenses.

Lymphatic fluid flows through lymph vessels, which connect lymph nodes. As it passes through the lymph nodes, white blood cells trap and destroy harmful particles, such as bacteria.

Like blood in the circulatory system, lymphatic fluid is always moving. If it stops, swelling can occur, as lymph fluid builds up, often in the arms or legs. Health experts call this lymphedema.

Lymphatic massage usually forms part of a treatment program health experts call decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT).

DLT for lymphedema includes:

• lymphatic drainage massage
• compression garments
• exercise
• skin care

Together, these can improve circulation throughout the lymphatic system and help manage Trusted Source symptoms of lymphedema, including:

• swelling in the extremities — such as the arms, legs, hands, or feet — which can affect mobility
• swelling in other parts of the body, including the chest, breast, shoulder, face, and groin
• pain and changes in sensation
• a feeling of heaviness
• difficulty fitting into clothing

Lymphedema can benefit people who have a buildup of lymphatic fluid:

• cancer and cancer treatments that involve the removal of lymph nodes
• filariasis, which is infestation of the lymph nodes by a parasite carried by mosquitoes
• some types of vascular surgery, such as vein stripping
• burn scar excision
• lipectomy,/ BBL a type of surgery to remove fat from the body
• infection or trauma in the lymphatic system
• a buildup of fluid due to deep vein thrombosis
• health conditions that affect blood flow to the extremities, such as the hands and feet