Sports massage is a form of therapy used by a variety of therapists, which can help alleviate the bodies’ soft tissue structures – including muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia. Therapists use a range of manual, compressive and stretching techniques to help reduce tightness, relieve tension and promote healthy soft tissue. However, a sports massage can do way more than just help your soft tissue, and below are some of the other benefits of regular sports massage.

helps relieve stress & reduces anxiety
Just a single massage treatment can reduce one’s stress levels, and regular massages can have long-term beneficial effects. As well as helping to reduce cortisol within the body (the stress hormone), this type of massage can also boost the bodies’ endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, helping you to relax and elevate positive moods. Sports massages have also been shown to alleviate symptoms in people suffering with long-term depression and anxiety problems.

boosts immunity
Our immune system is the biological part of our body that prevents illness and disease, but this can suffer due to a number of reasons such as stress or poor diet. Massage has been shown to boost immunity by increasing the cytotoxic cells that kill viruses and toxins within the body. Massage promotes the important drainage of toxins through the lymphatic system in the body, helping to increase good blood supply to the body.

regulates blood pressure
High or low blood pressure can be fatal and symptomless, leading on to a number of problems such as heart disease and stroke. Getting blood pressure to a healthy level is vital and regular massage is a cost-effective treatment to regulate blood pressure – helping to increase good blood flow and supply to the body – decrease heart rate and decrease cortisol within the body, which has been shown to increase blood pressure.

helps to tone (scar tissue)
A sedentary lifestyle and poor muscle health can lead to muscles becoming untoned. This can be due to poor blood supply, high levels of adhesions and poor contractibility. Sports massage can help by stimulating unused muscles fibres, breaking down knots within the tissues and regulating good blood supply and beneficial drainage of toxins. Scar tissue that is laid down after injury is treatable with massage techniques – massages can break down and elongate scar tissue, helping to increase the skins elasticity.

relieves pain
Pain in any form will cause your body and mind undue stress. Sports massage, though uncomfortable itself when using deeper techniques, can be helpful in preventing and stopping pain. Headaches can be relieved via massage to the neck and shoulder regions, helping to relax the muscles that are often tight and therefore inhibiting blood flow to the brain. Joint and soft tissue pain – even arthritis – has been shown to decrease with sports massage. Various techniques help to improve blood flow, which helps healing and also develops a better range of motion at joints. The positive endorphins released during massage also help manage pain and promote relaxation.

helps breathing
Many debilitating conditions affect breathing and the respiratory system, such as asthma, bronchitis and allergies. Massage alone cannot solve these problems but can go a long way to help. Treatments can help relax the respiratory muscles in the back and front of the body, helping sufferers breathe deeper. Massages can also improve posture, which can help open up the chest to improve breathing efficiency.