The million dollar question that you may ask yourself when considering booking a massage session; which one do I go for and will be the most effective for my needs?
There is a VAST array of massage treatments to pick from and knowing which one to go for can be, at the very least, confusing, and at the very worst mean losing some hard earned cash if you chose one that may be less suitable for your needs. So if you’re considering a sports massage, what are your expectations and are they in line with what a ‘sports massage therapist’ can deliver?
So just for clarity -I qualified in sports massage but I now consider and market myself as a ‘soft tissue therapist’ rather than a ‘sports massage therapist’ (although I still use the words sports massage in marketing for Google hits and algorithms as it’s what people search for). Why the change in title? I feel that sports massage is too narrow a term and misleading in that it’s only athletes or regular gym goers that benefit from this type of massage. Not True!
So, how is it different from other types of massage and why should or shouldn’t you consider a sports massage over other types of massage therapy?
Well, firstly, massage is massage is massage. I know, right? You will probably get a totally different experience with each massage therapist that you see, but ultimately we are all manipulating soft tissue. Controversial, right? So if us massage therapists are all basically doing the same thing, what is it that makes one massage different from another?
A number of things. The marketing, the qualification and training of the therapist, sometimes (but not always) how experienced the therapist is, and really REALLY importantly and something that is often overlooked *the therapists communication and listening skills and applying that to your expectations, goals and outcomes*. The last point is actually the top reason that clients don’t rebook. The therapist hasn’t listened to what you want, told you what massage can and can’t do or managed your expectations (more about this in a later blog).
Sports massage is marketed to prevent and help with injuries/ aches/ pains so sports massage therapists need in-depth training in anatomy, physiology, health conditions, contraindications, assessments, treatment goals and outcomes. Your session will be more targeted to work on specific areas of concern to assess and treat issues meaning that the actual massage strokes are not as slow and ‘flowing’ compared to say, a Swedish massage which is more focussed on long strokes and relaxation. You may also do some stretching and be given some exercises and a plan going forward if there is a treatment goal. Will a sports massage be painful? It shouldn’t be, which is why I market myself as the ‘no pummel’ sports massage, but that is a whole other new blog so more on that later..
So, the choice of a *sports massage* is a good one if you are looking for a massage that will less flowing and more targeted than a more relaxing type of massage. That’s it folks! I’ll be covering some of the claims of the benefits of sports massage soon so stay tuned..
Michelle
