Massage & Bodywork

November | December 2014

Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/398416

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 25 of 133

F r e e m u s i c d o w n l o a d s f o r C e r t i f i e d m e m b e r s : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 23 TEN FOR TODAY 1. SPORTS MASSAGE STARTS BEFORE THE EVENT That's true whether the client is a professional athlete, a serious amateur, or a casual exerciser. "The pre-event sessions are designed for getting the body ready and primed," says Steve Earles, a certified sports massage therapist who frequently consults with Sombra, a product line that includes massage cream and lotion, and warm and cool pain-relieving gel therapy. "Specific areas are addressed depending on which muscles and joints will be impacted. For example, a runner may need more range of motion and flexibility with the hamstrings and calf areas. A baseball or softball player may be concerned about the rotator cuff and arm. Maximum muscle use and joint mobilization is the goal." 2. KNOW THE SPORT "If you know the biomechanics and issues of the activity, it is much easier to relate to your clients and they will feel at ease knowing they're in good hands," says triathlete Ellyn Vandenberg, an instructor with Advanced- Trainings.com, an education group that specializes in advanced myofascial techniques. "You'll also know what's appropriate to do for them and with them." 3. KNOW THE BIOMECHANICS OF MOVEMENT What looks like a simple sore joint may have its origins in a different part of the body. "Say your client has started a recreational running program, and starts having anterior knee pain, a common ailment," says Whitney Lowe, director of OMERI based in Sisters, Oregon. "Someone skilled in orthopedic massage won't say 'Let's massage your knee because it hurts.' They'll look at the mechanics of it. It might be your footwear or postural problems. Analyzing the nature of what the client is doing is key." Sports Massage 10 Winning Concepts By Rebecca Jones 4. IT'S ALL ABOUT CONNECTIONS "The anatomy we learned in school isn't all that easy to apply in a holistic way," says Tom Myers, creator of Anatomy Trains, a unique map of "the anatomy of connection." "Someone with fallen arches may actually be tied up in the groin," Myers says. "If they keep pointing to their feet, and you keep working on their arches, it will be an exercise in frustration for everybody." 5. A SLOW SLOG OR A FAST ROMP Garry Vitti, head athletic trainer with the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, and a consultant with Biomechanic Systems, prefers the latter. Biomechanic Systems makes a percussive massager that is intended to perform myofascial release more quickly and with far less stress on the therapist. "With this type of device, instead of treating six to eight people per day, you could treat 35 with very little, if any, physical fatigue," Vitti says. Using a hand-held device doesn't mean you'll never use your hands again, Vitti says. "You always begin and end with your hands on the person. But instead of doing all the work with your hands, you use the machine to create the release, then go back with your hands." He estimates using a percussive massage cuts treatment time by about a third. A runner may need more range of motion and flexibility with the hamstrings and calf areas.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Massage & Bodywork - November | December 2014