Injury assessments are an important stage of helping you understand why you have an injury, how it possibly happened in the first place and also giving you guidance on what possible structures of the body may have become injured.
Sitting down and talking to a qualified therapist can help you identify possible reasons as to why you are feeling pain. A physical assessment can give you a clearer understanding as to which area of the body is injured and a time frame can be given as to how long the injury will take to improve.
The assessment is the initial part of the session. This is followed by the implementation of a treatment and rehabilitation plan. In many cases a hands on approach is used to aid the reduction of pain and to help the individual improve their ability to move. Once this has been established a rehabilitation plan can be formulated to help you return to how you were prior to the injury.
Sports massage is the application of pressure through massage to increase the blood flow to a specific area of the body. The increase of blood flow to an area can assist the body’s natural recovery system during the repairing phase of damaged tissue. Sports massage can reduce pain felt in muscles anywhere in the body. Often the combination of improved blood flow to the area and a reduction in pain will allow you to move more which is a key part to healing. Many people describe the feeling of being able to move better with less pain post massage. This is the early stage of recovery from injury and is often overlooked.
Sports massage is also used as a recovery tool for many athletes who train and exercise frequently and as a result feel tight and lethargic. Massage can draw blood into the muscle tissues similar to when exercising without the actual strain on the body. Therefore, when coupled with exercise in a structured plan it can have many benefits to the individual.
Over the years I feel like one of the most important factors when helping someone manage pain or help them to optimise their training routine is to discuss face to face with the client what they want from the session. An hour appointment allows an interaction that will create a bespoke session that can include massage, stretching, exercise guidance and tips on recovery as well as how to plan your training.
I have always felt that if you are getting a regular sports massage you should have a reason as to why you are having it and secondly what is it aiming to achieve. Working on areas of the body related specifically to that individual will give them optimum results.
Getting to understand a person’s routine and how much strain it has on their body can help both the therapist and the client formulate a routine that will help them optimise their training as well as reducing the risk of injury.
Quite often it is during the discussion of the individuals routine lies the reasons why they are currently injured or struggling with recovery. Small changes tailored to that individual can often bring about the best results.
A takeaway from the appointment will be the guidance for you to follow in the time frame from then until your next appointment, aiming for gradual constant progression.