Sports Massage: Enhancing Training, Participation and Recovery for Today's Athlete, 2nd Edition: Summary 72
• Address major restrictions; for example imbalances effecting stride length that would impact performance would require a correction to be made • Evaluate any range of motion (ROM) restrictions; again here minor restrictions may be addressed however major ROM restrictions may need further examination • Make note of any visible hypertrophies and assess any palpable adhesions that may also be addressed with caution After an assessment is conducted the athlete can then proceed with a warm-up. A warm- up should be performed prior to a pre-event massage and benefits include: • Raises body temp and brings blood to the working muscles • Lowers blood and decreases muscle viscosity so the blood flows with greater ease • Stimulates the firing of neurotransmitters like epinephrine • Activates the parasympathetic nervous system • Provides time for athlete to focus on upcoming task The different types of warm-ups include general (bike elliptical) and specific (playing catch, shooting the basketball) and should be performed for approximately 5-10 minutes. The goals of a pre-event massage are as follows: stimulate muscles, free joint movement, reduce adhesions, and preserve some muscle tone. Techniques that may be utilized during a pre- event massage include: • Performing brisk massage strokes that stimulate the muscles (avoid long deep strokes) • Friction, AROM, vibrating/shaking, tapotement • Muscle release techniques • Dynamic flexibility
The duration of the pre-event massage should be approximately 5-10 min; not too long that the athlete’s muscles become relaxed. Flexibility of Pre-Event Massage: • Dynamic focused rather than static; to stimulate the stretch reflex full lengthened muscles should be avoided to maintain some muscle tension • Maintaining muscle tension also integrates the series elastic component that is part of the stretch shorten cycle (see diagram below) • Stretching of a muscle stimulates the muscle spindles that detect length; if a muscle is overstretched and lengthened too far it can’t snap back • Goal is to preserve some muscle tone and not over lengthen the muscle
The Stretch Reflex
During an event similar principles and massage techniques apply: • Brisk effleurage and petrissage massage • Move in centripetal direction (toward center of body) • Cross friction massage • Dynamic flexibility
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