Sports Massage

Some of you may wonder, “what is sports massage, and what makes it different from deep tissue massage?” Allow me to shed some light on the subject; sports massage tends to focus more on muscle-specific areas of concern or the areas where repetitive use from your activity comes in. We tailor sports massage sessions to focus on the areas you most engage in and where those repetitive movements come from. 

Whether you are a professional athlete, sports player, competitive runner, bodybuilder, or just someone with a passion for fitness, or if you spend a marathon of time chained to your desk, sports massage can be just the right treatment for you. 

Sports massage is great for preventing injuries and reducing the potential for strains, sprains, and unhealthy muscle tears. At Elevation Massage and Spa, our team has a myriad of techniques and tools at our disposal to aid you in your sports/rehab journey. A typical sports massage session with us incorporates the following: 

• Cupping therapy (cupping) is excellent for increasing blood flow, decreasing scar tissue formation in the fascia (the protective layer of tissue around the muscle), and increasing general mobility in affected areas. They say that 5 minutes of cupping equates to 15 minutes of deep tissue massage! We love incorporating cupping on areas of concern because it allows us to maximize your time and work on other areas while the cups are on. Plus, who doesn’t love looking like they went to battle with an octopus?!

• Muscle scraping, or Gua Sha, is done with a special tool that helps us get into difficult and restricted areas. Muscle scraping helps to stress the muscle in a good way, facilitating blood flow and breakdown of scar tissue, it can leave red marks and bruising, but it is highly effective for sports/rehab injuries and stimulates the body to accelerate the repairing process.

• Stretching and passive range of motion (ROM); these techniques address limitations in the muscle fiber, and work to lengthen and strengthen weakened areas. ROM work is great in assessing limitations in mobility and gives us insight into targeting those areas. 

• Trigger point therapy: an essential technique in the sports massage tool belt; trigger point is also known as Neuromuscular Therapy. The point of this technique is to create a protective healing muscle spasm, essentially hitting the muscle’s reset button. How it works is we hold a specific point on the muscle for longer periods of time, usually 15-30 seconds, or 3-5 deep breaths; this stimulates a healthy muscle spasm, and it can also alert us to other areas on the kinetic/muscle chain that may be experiencing pain/tension stemming from that spot. 

Sports massage involves rehab techniques combined with deep pressure; they generally are not relaxing and are more painful because of the nature of the techniques being applied. Usually, sports massages focus on 2-3 areas of concern versus the whole body. In comparison, deep tissue massages are more encompassing. They are meant to be more relaxing and soothing while focusing on tight areas/areas of concern and reducing pain and tension. 

As always, Elevation Massage and Spa sessions are about you and your needs; we tailor every session around your concerns and try to elevate your healing outcome to a whole new level. See you on the table