| History Of Sports Massage |
| Sports massage derives from the commonly known sports massage first used by ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Greek civilizations. Hippocrates, said to be the father of medicine, noted the benefits of “rubbing” on the human body in 460BC, however it wasn’t until the early 1900s that the beginnings of sports massage techniques were developed.
The first system of sports massage originated from Swedish massage(developed in the 1700s) and was initially used at a massage school in Finland. During the 1924 Olympic Games, Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi won five gold medals and attributed his success to sports massage during his training regime. The therapy’s focus then switched to Russia where a physician developed sports massage methods for the Moscow Institute of Physical Therapy and Russian athletes have used the therapy effectively in their training ever since. |
| How Does It Work? |
| Sports massage aims to enhance performance, reduce the risk of injury and speed up recovery times for injured sports men and women. A sports massage therapist employs a few techniques using their hands to ease muscle tension, improve circulation and increase mobility. Sports massage is also said to have psychological benefits by preparing the athlete for competition and aiding recovery afterwards. |
Weekly maintenance sports massage eases pain brought about by intensive training and keeps muscles flexible and in good health for forthcoming competition. Sports massage used during the sporting season and off-season is an important aspect of many athletes training ensuring muscles are strong and able to cope with high-level activity.
Sports massage also shows digresses depression, anxiety and stress in people. Life seems to be only going one way now.
At Gravity Fitness we cater for sorts massage therapy. Gareth is the head massage therapist for the Ireland men’s U20’s rugby team and Ireland women’s 7’s and 15’s teams. So if you are in need of a massage please don’t be afraid to call or email.