Sports massage is an overlooked field that helps in preventing injuries and increasing the flexibility of athletes to perform better. This method involves muscle manipulation to help treat sports injuries by stretching and stimulating tight muscles to improve the condition of soft tissue. When athletes work rigorously with repetitive motion, tension builds up in their muscles and it can cause soft tissue muscle imbalances. This could reduce an athlete's performance and can have consequences on their career. Sports massage therapists focus on the deeper tissue layers in the body to warm up and loosen muscles for faster recovery and better conditioning. For athletes, there are many different types of sports massage therapy such as,
- Soft tissue massage - It focuses on the joints and soft tissues in order to reduce muscle tension and pain. The method involves stretching the muscle fibers to increase flexibility, alleviate pain, promote blood circulation, and decrease tension.
- Deep tissue massage - Damaged muscle fibers accumulate toxins that cause inflammation of muscles in the deeper layers of the body and cause pain, stiffness, and discomfort. The massage technique targets these issues by applying pressure to ease tension.
- Whole-body massage - Swedish massage can be used in between games to calm the body and mind. This massage technique involves strokes to boost relaxation.
To become a professional sports massage therapist, you need to have a high level of training and in-depth knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, injury assessment, and biomechanics. You would also need to have good communication skills as you would be caring for clients of different ages, cultures, and traditions. Most of the sports massage therapists will be seen working with around 5 clients a day with each session lasting for about 60 to 90 minutes. While assessing pain areas and prescribing the best treatment plan, you would also need to create a nutrition plan for your clients and explain the benefits to them.
Sports massage is a wonderful career option for those who are interested in working with athletes to improve their performance. You would need to continue to gain new skills to improve the existing skill set to treat a range of clients. Australasian College of Massage & Myotherapy (ACMM) is one of the best massage training institutes in Australia that provides sports massage courses for those who are passionate about becoming a qualified sports massage therapist. The course will help the students in developing the knowledge and skills required to use drills and exercises to instruct strength and conditioning techniques according to their sport-specific needs. Sports massage comes under the remedial massage course and the next batch starts in January 2021. Those who are willing to be a part of the institute to learn various sports massage techniques to help athletes achieve their personal fitness goals can enroll in the course earlier. Learn more about the course details like syllabus, entry requirement, and fee structure by visiting the official website of ACMM.
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