FITNESS ADVICE
Sports Masseur and Physio Colin McDermott underlines the benefits of sports massage and sports injuries. Colin is physio for Hethersett Athletic Football Club and also to the Hethersett and Meltons Village Sports Team.
More and more people are realising that a complex workout routine includes not only the exercise itself but also caring for the wear and tear and injuries that naturally occur with strenuous movement.
As many different methods exist to aid your recovery, perhaps the most well known is massage or sports massage.
A good supply of blood to all cells in the body so as to enable the creation of new cells, their growth and repair/maintenance. These are the cells that for example comprise muscles, ligaments and tendons. So any active individual/athlete is especially reliant on the effective functioning of such cells.
During massage the techniques employed push blood through arteries and capillaries which benefits our blood circulation (in a way similar to exercising).
As the blood can only flow in one direction as the pressure in front of the therapist's hand is increased, a vacuum is created behind and this causes new or fresh blood to enter this vacuum.
As massage is carried out, blood vessels begin to warm up which causes them to dilate which in turn allows more blood to pass through and in turn enables nutrients to pass through more easily.
This is critical because in tight or damaged muscle these may squeeze blood out (like a sponge) depriving the tissue/cells of vital components carried by the blood as oxygen, water or fuel.
A better circulation also improves removal of waste products from all parts of the body such as carbon dioxide, dead cells or lactic acid. This is also critical.
Scar tissue which is the result of previous injuries or trauma and can effect muscle tendons and ligaments. This can lead to inflexible tissue that is prone to injury and pain. Massage can help this by firstly locating faults and damage, warming up this area, then stretching and breaking down the damaged or scar tissue.