Designed to help athletes recover more quickly from injury and achieve maximum physical performance, sports massage is an integral part of any serious athlete’s daily routine. Sports massage provides relief from stress, improves muscle efficiency and blood circulation, and reduces rehabilitation time following an injury. Frequent massages can also prevent future injury from occurring, and can reduce anxiety associated with competition.One important sports massage technique, the vibration stroke, involves the continuous jostling, shaking, or rocking of various parts of the body to improve joint mobility and circulation. Depending on the intensity of the massage and the focus area, vibration strokes can have either a relaxing or a stimulating effect on the muscles and the body as a whole.
Instructions
Use Vibration Strokes in Sports Massage
1. After locating any areas of tenderness that may need attention, it is important to check for damage to soft tissues as well as possible fractures that might not be immediately apparent. The oscillating movement of the vibration stroke technique can be harmful to those with untreated fractures or other serious injuries.
2. After determining what body area will be worked on, the massage therapist should rhythmically pick up the soft tissue and toss the tissue back and forth repeatedly. This should be continued until there is a noticeable reduction in muscle tension, or until local tenderness increases.
3. The vibration stroke technique can also be performed using the transference of vibration or trembling from the therapist's hands to the client's body. This approach is more suitable for extremely sore areas, and provides the additional benefit of inducing a state of relaxation in the client.
4. The technique should be repeated several times or until improvement is noted. The massaged area may become increasingly sore for several hours following the massage, but this discomfort should subside quickly.
5. For recurrent or persistent problems, the vibration stroke technique should be incorporated into your daily or weekly fitness routine. For optimum results, it should be alternated with other stroke techniques.
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