Faye Barr Sports Massage Therapy

Sports Massage & Therapy in Warwickshire

How Sports Massage will help you to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions

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If your resolution is to get fitter

Sports massage helps to improve posture, increase mobility and flexibility, which leads to improved muscle functioning, helping you to move better.

If your resolution is to be happier

Sports massage is proven to reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone and increase levels of serotonin, the hormone that promotes happiness. Sports massage also relieves muscle tension, relaxes tight shoulders and eases tension headaches, allowing you to feel relaxed and happier.

If your resolution is to take care of yourself

A recent study conducted by Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles found that just one hour of massage increased the levels of white blood cells in the body, leading to an improved immune system. Sports massage also has been shown to decrease blood pressure, with a study at the University of Maryland Medical Centre finding an average drop in Systolic pressure of 10.4 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure drop of on average 5.3 mm Hg.

If you resolution is to improve in your sport

Regular sports massage helps to improve the recovery rate of muscles by increasing blood flow, helping oxygen and nutrients to get to damaged tissue. By increasing recovery rate, the body is able to take on higher levels of training, leading to improved performance.

The injury prevention and rehabilitation benefits of sports massage helps to prolong sporting careers. Sports massage prior to an event will help you to prepare mentally by promoting a positive mindset and high self-confidence.

If your resolution is to get a promotion at work

Sports massage increases blood flow to the brain, providing more oxygen, which improves concentration and levels of productivity, allowing you to work more effectively.

The reduced levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin achieved through regular sports massage can promote high confidence and a positive mindset needed to work hard and achieve goals.

 

Whatever your resolution, let me help you to achieve it by booking a sports massage today.

Why does Sports Massage hurt?

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A lot of clients ask me if it’s normal for their muscles to feel sore after sports massage treatment, with some clients using the phrase ‘no pain, no gain’ to justify why sports massage NEEDS to be painful. I have even joked with clients that I should offer gas and air as part of my service!

 

So does sports massage HAVE to be uncomfortable for it to work? I often talk about ‘good pain’ and ‘bad pain’ with clients. Good pain being slightly uncomfortable soreness during treatment, bad pain being so painful that you need to tense all your muscles to try to block out the pain. This is where talking with your therapist is so important, as everyone’s pain threshold is different. If you’re having to grit your teeth and tense your muscles to get through the treatment, the pressure is too much. By tensing your muscles, the sports massage is not as effective as it should be, as the muscle is effectively blocking out the treatment. With good pain, however, comes a slightly uncomfortable, but bearable, sensation in the muscle that is being worked on. This amount of pressure is the most effective, as the muscles are able to stay relaxed and allow the therapist to break down any knots and adhesions.

 

In terms of how you should feel after a sports massage is individual. Some people will feel amazing as soon as they step off the couch, with looser, more flexible muscles and any muscular pain felt before the treatment gone. Some people, however, will experience muscle soreness for up to 48 hours after and slight bruising. This is often the case with those who have long standing muscular issues that require more than one treatment to feel vast improvements.

 

So, in summary, discuss pressure with your therapist throughout the treatment and book regular massages (ideally once a week, at least once a month) in order to feel amazing immediately after your sports massage!

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