What is Sports massage?
- A massage method developed from the Classic massage
- A deeper treatment than classic massage
- More fast paced and deeper
- Less relaxing and less transitioned
- Loosens stiff muscles and treats trigger points
- For almost everyone and not just athletes
Online Sports Massage Courses, something for you?
The profession as a sports masseur is an incredibly rewarding and fun, it is also a profession that places tough physical demands on you as a masseur.
Working as a sports masseur also requires in-depth knowledge of the body’s anatomy; how, when or if you should even treat a client comparing to what the classic Massage requires.
The sports massage is more specific and therapeutic where the classic massage has a more general purpose and focus on muscle relaxation.
Does it sound interesting to learn how to be a good sports masseur? Then we think you should look more at our sports massage courses, online, or directly on site with us.
What exactly is sports massage?
Sports massage is a massage method that originally was developed from the Swedish classic massage. A sports massage treatment has a special purpose, usually to help treat and rehabilitate stiff, hard, weakened or injured muscles.
The sports massage does not necessarily have to follow a special pattern or have soft transitions as the classic massage does, here you can treat a specific area and then treat a completely different specific area.
For eg. as a sports masseur during one and the same treatment, you could give a sports massage on hard trigger points between a client’s shoulder blades first and foremost and then give treatment on the client’s calves or quadriceps, or vice versa. This is to give just an example of what a plan for a sports massage treatment can look like.
As usual, it is the client who decides the muscle or muscles he or she wants treated, but always in close consultation with you as a masseur or massage therapist.
The sports massage is also much deeper and with a harder pressure (than the Swedish classic massage has) and is usually performed at a faster pace.
Therapeutic stretching often ends a treatment
A treatment with sports massage often ends with so-called therapeutic stretching. This means that it is you as a masseur / massage therapist who performs the actual stretching for the client, where the client is constantly passive.
At Massage & Spa School’s online sports massage courses, you will learn how to give your clients a therapeutic stretching for all the body’s large muscle groups.
10 – 20% of the actual sports massage treatment usually consists of therapeutic stretching and this is usually done the last thing you do in the treatment. The reason why the therapeutic stretching comes last in the treatment is because the muscles are really soft and warm at that point and that the blood circulation is then also at a really high level for the client.
The therapeutic stretching can also be done earlier in the treatment during several rounds, but then it is important that the muscles have first and foremost been treated with heating as with deeper massage before going on the therapeutic stretching, all to ensure that blood circulation is good and that the muscles are soft.
Sports massage is no longer just for elite athletes
What was previously primarily intended and designed for elite athletes and elite teams in various sports is now for almost everyone. In sports, the deeper sports massage has long been used for several different purposes.
In part, it has been used for a rehabilitative purpose when the injury has already occurred but also in the prehab phase, for increased and improved performance, as to improve and speed up the recovery after training and competition.
The sports massage is also used where you quickly need to give the muscle oxygen to get ready to perform a job.
A good example on this is when a football player has got cramping muscles and a physio comes running onto the football field and performs a quick sports massage of e.g. thighs to get the player to be able to continue playing, once a football player has had this affliction, however, the sports massage is a quick and extremely temporary solution as the cramping usually returns quickly.
Sports massage is now, as I said, more or less for everyone and not just for elite athletes. However, what is very important to add is that you should not take for granted that you can or even should give a sports massage to a client just because it is the client’s wishes.
You as a masseur need to carry out an anamnesis (the patient’s medical history) in advance where your client can describe their problems to you and where you thus get to know whether a sports massage should be given or not.
How to find out if a treatment should be given or not
Just like with the Swedish classic massage, you as a sports masseur should always let your client submit his anamnesis.
As I said, it is far from obvious that a deep sports massage should be given. If your client comes and for example have an acute muscle injury, severe back pain that goes down the leg and also all the way down to the foot, have fever, flu, osteoporosis or take painkillers, they have so-called direct contraindications (when sports massage should NOT be given).
At Massage & Spa School’s online sports massage courses, you will learn how to ask a medical history, what questions to ask, and how to find out whether massage treatment should be given or not.
With us you will learn indications (when massage can be given), relative contraindications (when massage can be given but you need to be careful) and direct contraindications (when massage should not be given).
The general basic rule is always that if you as a masseur are in doubt about whether massage treatment should be given or not, no massage treatment should be given either, but the client should be referred to medical care in a first stage. In a second stage or even later, you as a masseur can again be relevant to the client, but only after the doctor has given their ok.
To go to a masseur, sports masseur or massage therapist who does not first make an accurate history before a possible treatment can start is immediately unprofessional and can harm the client even worse than before.
A profession with many different workplaces
As a sports masseur, you can work in a multitude of different work environments. You can of course work from a reception where you receive your clients, but it is very common to also work where your client is.
As a sports masseur, you can also e.g. work with elite athletes, associations, clubs and exercise athletes. This means that you will not always be able to be present at your own reception and treat your clients. It is common to work in a locker room, outdoors on the sidelines or at exercise races, trade fairs and events and give sports massages to your clients.
Tip! Combine educations at a really good and discounted price
Working as a sports masseur is, as I said, an incredibly rewarding, fun and physically demanding job. We always advise our students to try to broaden their skills in several different massage methods.
In this way, you as a student get several “tools in the toolbox” and can also offer your clients several different types of treatments. This means that you as a masseur can increase your clientele, your income but also that you save your own body with a more varied and varied work.
We at Massage & Spa School offer you several different courses for masseur, sports masseur and spa therapist. Take the chance and attend several combination trainings with us, when you do this you will also get all this at an even better discounted combination price.
Contact us regarding our courses
Over the years, we have trained lots of skilled masseurs, sports masseurs and spa therapists with us at Massage & Spa School Gran Canaria, online and on site with us on the beautiful island in the Atlantic ocean.
Should you have any questions or concerns about any of our courses, do not hesitate to contact us and we will help you. Feel free to read more on our website about what several of our previously talented students say about their courses with us.
As always, it is possible to contact us via our chat, via email or on Facebook.
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