15 The massages ranged in time from 30 to 90 minutes. 15 The length of the massage and the techniques performed by the students were not controlled, but were instead based upon the students' perception of the clients' needs. Twenty five massage therapy students provided massage treatments to 150 current massage therapy clients. Recommendations are discussed highlighting the need for additional research in sports massage.Ĭamborn et al 15 investigated the effect of massage on a recipient's blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to review and present the current literature relating to sports massage and its roles in effecting an athlete's psychological readiness, in enhancing sports performance, in recovery from exercise and competition, and in the treatment of sports-related musculoskeletal injuries. 2, 3, 5 While massage is frequently performed by physical therapists (and other healthcare or alternative medicine practitioners) and is popular with athletes and coaches, its actual efficacy is questionable.
Sports aktuell manual#
5 Sports massage has been suggested as a means to help prepare an athlete for competition, as a tool to enhance athletic performance, as a treatment approach to help the athlete recover after exercise or competition, and as a manual therapy intervention for sports-related musculoskeletal injuries.
Physical therapists who specialize in sports medicine often utilize massage techniques to aid an athlete's recovery from intense exercise or as a treatment option when performing clinical rehabilitation. 1– 3 Massage has been promoted as a treatment of choice for numerous conditions such as musculoskeletal injuries, cancer, stress, relaxation, and pregnancy. 1 Chinese writings dating back to 2500 BC describe the use of this modality for a variety of medical purposes.
Massage has been utilized in the treatment of illness and injury for thousands of years by health care practitioners.