I had an interesting question posed the other day. “I’m an athlete and I feel great, so why should I get a sport/corrective massage now?”
The answer is simple: Muscle memory ( a.k.a. tissue training)
Consider corrective/orthopedic massage as another form of muscle training. Muscles have lots of stuff going on inside and out: contracting and relaxing, moving blood and fluids, chemical reactions, and even fascial restrictions. Maybe you’ve heard of Fascia? It’s a stringy, gelatin-like substance responsible for lubricating movements inside and around muscles. Peek under the skin of a chicken breast before you throw it on the grill – that gooey, slimy stuff under the skin is fascia. It’s everywhere!
When fascia is thick and gooey (congealed), its fibers are disorganized causing muscle movements to be tiring and stiff. Think of those first few steps when getting out of bed each morning. Once we begin stretching, we start to open the fascia, and it feels good.
So, what does corrective massage do for us? First, if muscles, fascia, and other soft tissues are treated properly, the fibers will become more organized and less gooey in that area. Movement will seem to have less resistance! Repeat this tissue training multiple times and soon the tissues move more correctly, causing less aches and pains.
What if you feel fine today? Still get a corrective massage treatment, it’s like a tune-up for your body. You may not feel any aches and pains just hanging out, but your therapist can find those places which need attention, so they don’t become bigger issues later on.
Corrective massage is a combination of various forms of massage including myofascial, trigger point therapy, deep tissue and relaxation. With all of these techniques combined, the muscles are treated to a workout similar to the athlete’s training session – some heavy lifting, some light reps. Muscles like being coaxed into behaving, not forced or threatened.
So help your muscles, fascia, and the other tissues of your body learn how to behave in a competitive way. Give us a call or text and let’s talk!