Sports Massage – Pre-Event
Massage before an event is definitely an integral element of the pre-event preparation for a lot of athletes. Pre-event massage can create a state of readiness in the muscles and tissues so that the athlete’s performance could be optimized. Whilst some therapists consider that the pre-event massage can take place up to 48 hours before an event, most Sports Massage therapists judge that, as it happens a pre-event massage is a given right before the time an athlete is scheduled to compete (ideally 15-45 minutes before the event). This information will focus on massage immediately before the event.
A question that’s often posed is if the pre-event massage happen before or after the athlete gets warm. To reply to that one needs to understand the physiological effects of a warm-up: to increase heart rate, body’s temperature and respiratory rate; and also to prepare your body’s nervous system. Hence a pre-event massage done after the warm-up would defeat it’s purpose and also you don’t want the athlete’s heart rate, body’s temperature and respiratory rate to decrease during the massage.
In general a pre-event massage should assist in helping the blood circulation to the muscles to allow the muscles to become flushed and oxygenated. Tight muscles may be relaxed to ensure that joints can be moved through their range of motion. Emphasis should be placed on the muscles used during the activity so improve performance as well as reduce the possibility of injuries. The athlete may use time to pay attention to their event, to relax or complete their mental preparation. After the massage, the athlete should feel great!
Specifically before giving a pre-event massage, the therapist should ask several key questions which relate back to the article “Sports Massage – An Introduction”(1)
namely what techniques should be used and what’s the intent.
These question include:
- which kind of event may be the athlete competing in? Are lightening quick reactions required as a pre-event massage given too close to the event may dull reaction times?
- does the athlete’s sports permit the utilization of oils or lotions throughout the pre-event massage?
- may be the athlete required to be “loose” prior to the event (eg boxing) or relaxed (bowling)?
The massage should generally be done in a moderate pace, non-specific, relatively light, warming and short in duration (no more than around 15-20 minutes). It certainly doesn’t have to become a complete routine. Associated with pension transfer massage treatments, it’s preferable to be conservative – too little is better than too much. The massage must not be painful or include high impact techniques for example deep cross-fibre frictions or deep muscle therapy. The strategy most commonly used are general Swedish techniques (petrissage, vibration or percussion), compression, jostling, broadening strokes and general frictions.
It is important to observe that no two individuals react to massage in quite the same way which can present a problem towards the therapist seeing a sports athlete for the first time for a pre-event massage or perhaps in the final couple of days before a celebration. For example, two days before an event the massage could be deep so that the athlete can obtain the maximum recuperative benefit from the pre-event taper. Nevertheless the depth required to address specific trouble spots will be different considerably between athletes. An athlete should see how they react to a massage within the last 48 hours/pre-event in a competition (or simulated work out) that’s non-critical. So do not let it rest until the day before the town to Surf or your special day to have the first massage!