Sports Massage with Orange Therapies

Felicia Canepa LSSM ITEC MISRM
Orange Therapies
www.orangetherapies.co.uk

Pre and post event sports massage with Orange Therapies

Sport and remedial massage (soft tissue therapy) is a powerful physical and mental tool for athletes and sports people.

It prevents injuries, improves restricted movement and old injuries of the soft tissues and provides a boost in confidence in the knowledge that you will be performing at your best.


Pre event

Sport-massage-1I ask my clients to come in clinic for pre event sports massage treatments no closer than two days before the sports event.  The treatment can be quite thorough with deep friction to aim at working on adhesions, injuries  and freeing and lengthening the muscles and connective tissues (myofascial release).  This will enable the athlete to also relax and give the body some time to heal before the event.   I generally make a point of not offering full length treatments on the day before the event, as the muscles may be unable to heal in time and produce the power that it is needed for the event. In some cases the treatment also may improve the range of movement to such an extent that the athlete is unable to quickly adjust to it: this is very true with golfers who after the treatment will find their swing to be more powerful than usual causing to miscalculate for the hole-in-one!

If unavoidable and the client can only receive the sports massage one day before the event  then treatment will be shorter and aimed at those muscles that will mainly be under stress during the competition i.e. calfs, hamstrings, quads and glutes for a runner.  I usually ask the athlete which muscles mainly hurt after the event, so to give me a general idea of which one to target.

 

On the event day

Sport-massage-A sport massage on the day of the event is usually no more that 15 minutes in duration. I tend to get an idea from the athlete itself of what kind of treatment she/he requires: if they want a relaxing treatment to calm their nerves or/and a treatment to help them with a specific musculoskeletal problem.  In other words, a slow treatment will feel calming whilst a stimulating and brisk one will prepare the athlete for powerful action. At times both techniques will be used such as for a sprinter who will need to keep the nerves at bay at the starting point but with their legs ready for action. In any case the treatment will not be too invasive as we don’t want to take the chance of further injuring or pulling a muscle right before competition.

The treatment is generally given over the clothing or a towel, without oil or lotion as they could hinder their performance by the skin becoming slippery, causing itchiness or clogging the pores, making it difficult to sweat.

And no, the treatment is not a substitute to a warm up before the competition!!

 

Post event

SSport-Massage-3port massage straight after an event can be very helpful in eliminating muscle waste and stretching the soft tissues. It does not although substitute a good warming–down routine.  Post event sport and remedial massage is aimed at being slow and thorough. Care is taken by looking for any acute traumas and soft tissues injuries.  With acute inflammation, ice can be applied and at the same time massage is given around and away from the inflamed tissue. The treatment will include gentle passive stretching of those muscles that feel particularly sore.

Regular soft tissue therapy can enhance your performance and keep you free from injuries.  The aim is to keep your muscles and the surrounding layers of connective tissue to move freely without restrictions, so that you can perform at your best.

Sport-Massage-4

I am a qualified Level 5 Clinical Sport & Remedial Massage Therapist (Soft Tissue Therapy Practitioner) and run my clinic from Crawley Down covering Crawley, Smallfield, Copthorne, Felbridge, Felcourt, East Grinstead, Turners Hill, Ardingly and Crawley Worth.

To make an appointment call me on 07941 711092