Tour de Test special. What’s the difference between sports massage and relaxation massage?

The Tour de Test Valley was held on a fabulously sunny and autumnal day a couple of Saturdays ago near Grateley. It was their 10th, the biggest (with over 153 cyclists young and old) and best event yet. They have raised over £40,000 for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably - a mental health charity) and still counting. For a £10 donation to charity, Tracey and Sarah from the SOP team gave sports massages to the tired legs, shoulders and backs of many grateful cyclists throughout the day. Which raises the question. What exactly is the difference and why go for a sports massage over one aimed at relaxation. Sarah Sellick explains....

Sports massage

Sports massage manipulates the body’s soft tissues and usually focuses on certain muscle groups, dependent on the athlete’s sport. Usually used for people who play sports or exercise regularly, sports massage helps prevent and treat injuries, reduce muscle pain, correct muscle imbalances, improve flexibility and range of movement and enhance athletic performance.

Sports massage uses soft tissue massage but also includes a number of  other techniques such as compression,  friction,  medical acupuncture (also known as dry needling), passive articulation of the joints, isometric muscle energy technique (resisting a muscle movement to stretch the muscle), Soft tissue release technique  which involves stretching a muscle while a portion is fixed, and neuromuscular technique which involves the application of sustained pressure over the sore point until the muscle relaxes and the discomfort decreases.

Great for athletes and dog walkers, gardeners and Pilates fans, yoga enthusiasts and  cyclists, ramblers and netballers – anyone who takes any form of exercise will benefit from a sports massage.

Relaxing / Swedish Massage

Relaxing / Swedish massage is the most common type of massage. It is known for its soft, long, kneading strokes combined with shorter, rhythmic tapping strokes, this kind of massage uses light to moderate pressure to accommodate patients comfort levels.

The treatment relaxes the soft tissue, increases blood flow, helps remove toxins, helps with painful muscles, reduces stress, lengthens muscles    and helps improve the immune system.

 by Sarah Sellick

Sports Massage and Refloxology

Itec Level 5 Sports massage, MAR, ART (regd)