About Sports Massage
What is Sports Massage?
Sports massage is a form of massage involving the manipulation of soft tissue to benefit a person engaged in regular physical activity. When a person exercises their body is subjected to various types of physical loading and following such activities, with the right amount of rest, the body’s systems adapt to cope with the increased stresses placed on them. These adaptations affect the muscles, the bones, the tissues, the nerves and the brain. In the right measure and at the right frequency, regular exercise enables the body to cope with increased levels of stress (overload), which allows the body to exercise at higher intensities or for longer durations.
Sports massage is designed to assist in correcting problems and imbalances in soft tissue that are caused from repetitive and strenuous physical activity. The application of sports massage, prior to and after exercise, may enhance performance, aid recovery and prevent injury. Following traumatic injury sports massage may also enhance and improve the quality of soft tissue healing.
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History
Massage is recorded as one of the earliest forms of physical therapy and was used over 3000 years ago in China, India and Greece. Its popular use in the Western world is largely due to the work of Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839), who developed the form of massage now known as Swedish massage. Ling developed his own style of massage and exercise to help fencers and gymnasts, gaining international recognition in the process. Many of his ideas have formed the foundations of modern sports massage. Today, there are many forms of massage available to assist us in maintaining our health and wellbeing. Sports massage has been accepted in America, Canada and Australia for many years now, while in the UK, the practice only became known and more widely used in the 1990s.
The Complete Guide to Sports Massage
Who recognises Sports Massage
Although there is no government regulated body for sports massage, there are now recognised educational qualifications such as VTCT that are mapped against National Occupational Standards (NOS) and The Qualifications and Credits Framework (QCF).
The Sports Massage Association was formed in 2002 and has gained recognition as one of the lead professional membership bodies in this field. They have been instrumental in establishing benchmark standards for sports massage practise in the UK.
