I provide Sports Massage in York, based out of Egerton’s Garage Gym.
Whether you are a world class athlete, a keen amateur sports person competing at a high level or a gym enthusiast trying to gain muscle and / or reduce body fat, Sports Massage is a very useful tool to have access to within your toolbox.
Sports Massage in York
In this article I’m going to talk about:
Who Sports Massage is for?
Why you should book in with me
What is involved in Sports Massage?
When should you have a Sports Massage?
How often you should be having Sports Massage?
Who Sports Massage is for?
Sports Massage can benefit anyone who is experiencing an uncomfortable build up of muscle tension. It is not just for athletes. Sports persons are prime candidates for benefitting from sports massage. This is because the volume and intensity of their training often results in a build up of muscle tension. This can be relieved with regular sports massage. However, even relatively sedentary individuals may benefit from regular sports massage. Sitting in the same position for prolonged periods of time as part of an office job. Driving for long hours. These are things that can result in an uncomfortable build up muscle tension that may be relieved with sports massage.
Why you should book in with me
My name is Tim Egerton, and I am a Sports Massage Therapist and Personal Trainer based in York. I have fifteen years of experience working within high performance sport and within the fitness industry. My regular sports massage clients have included Olympic athletes, Commonwealth Games medallists, World champions, and World Record Holders. I have also been an athlete myself. I have represented my country in international competition and won national titles as a middle distance runner. This experience of high level athletics has helped me to understand exactly what athletes need from a sports massage treatment.
In addition to my experience with Sports Massage and in high performance sport, I am highly qualified. I have a BSc (Hons) Degree in Sport and Exercise Science. I hold an MSc Degree in Strength and Conditioning. Additionally, I am qualified in Sports Massage through completing a Level Five Advanced Diploma in Sports Therapy.
My Sports Massage treatments take place in York, at my private personal training gym (Egerton’s Garage Gym, York). This means you can be sure your sports massage treatments are taking place in a clean, comfortable and private environment. In terms of the location, Egerton’s Garage Gym; it is based in the Foxwood area of York. This is just over two miles from York city centre.
What is involved in Sports Massage?
Massage can be thought of as the application of pressure to the body. This pressure can be applied using a variety of different techniques, depending on the desired outcome:
Superficial Sports Massage Techniques
- Effleurage is a massage technique that involves long, gliding strokes. This is an effective technique for increasing the temperature of muscles in preparation for more vigorous massage techniques. This technique is also very effective at increasing blood circulation.
- Petrissage is a massage technique that involves kneading and squeezing. Petrissage is an effective technique for making muscle tissue more pliable in preparation for more vigorous massage techniques.
Deep Sports Massage Techniques
- Deep Strokes are a more vigorous massage technique. They involve a high level of pressure to be applied along the same direction of the muscle fibres. Deep Strokes are an effective technique for lengthening muscle fibres. As such, Deep Strokes aid in maintaining or improving flexibility in massage clients.
- Transverse Strokes are similar to Deep Strokes, but are instead performed in a direction that is transverse to that of the muscle fibres. This technique allows muscle fibres to be stretched in a unique way that is difficult to achieve with conventional stretching methods.
- Friction is a massage technique that is used to spread and stretch soft tissue fibres at very specific locations. The magnitude of movement is very small when performing friction massage, but the magnitude of pressure is usually extremely high. Because of the sustained level of high pressure that is applied within a very small area, friction massage provides a local ischemic effect to the treated area, followed by a hyperaemia once the friction technique has stopped. This stimulates chemical changes within the treated soft tissue fibres. Friction massage is an effective technique for breaking down fibres and then realigning those fibres.
The above massage techniques are some of the most commonly used techniques used during Sports Massage. The more vigorous techniques, such as Deep Strokes, Transverse Strokes and Friction are typically used more prevalently during Sports Massage. In other types of massage, such as a relaxation massage, these vigorous techniques would not be used.
How often should you be having a Sports Massage?
For most of my regular Sports Massage clients in York, the most common frequencies for having Sports Massage with me are once every fortnight or once every month. A few clients have a regular weekly slot for Sports Massage, although this is less common. The every two to four week range seems to work very well for most clients.
Sports Massage is a recovery tool. As such, people often assume that more frequent massage sessions are better. There is a belief this will facilitate better recovery between training sessions, and therefore harder training can be tolerated. However, it is important to recognise that Sports Massage is a very specific type of recovery tool.
Whilst there are many benefits to be gained from Sports Massage, such as improved flexibility and improved circulation; most of those benefits can be achieved through alternative modalities. For example, we can improve flexibility through stretching and we can improve circulation through hot and cold contrast baths.
With hard training, it is inevitable that muscle tension will build up over time. For short periods of time, this tends not to impact upon performance and recovery. However, if this muscle tension is allowed to build up over longer periods of time, then it will begin to have a negative impact. The key benefit of sports massage is that it is able to alleviate this muscle tension in a way that other modalities are not able to.
Are You Training Correctly?
You should not need two to three Sports Massages per week in order to aleviete the build up of muscle tension. If you do, then actually this seems to be a clear sign that there is something wrong with the way you are training. In this scenario, cutting back on your training so that you are able to recover better would be a more appropriate solution than having more frequent massage treatment.
Similarly, if you find that a Sports Massage treatment every two to four weeks is just about right for keeping the build up of muscle tension under control; this is probably a good sign that the frequency, volume and intensity of your training is at about the correct level for you.
Another factor to consider when it comes to the frequency of Sports Massage treatments is the disruption to your training. An effective Sports Massage will require intense levels of pressure. This is, in reality, a type of trauma that that you are subjecting your body to, much in the same way that a very hard training session is traumatic for the body. As such, it is common to be sore and for performance to be impaired for a day or so following a Sports Massage.
Once these initial effects have subsided, the benefits of reduced muscle tension can take effect. However, you can see how anything more than once per week for Sports Massage treatment could actually be counterproductive. Since the massage itself requires a period of recovery, two to three massage treatments per week would leave an athlete with very little opportunity to actually take part in productive training sessions.
When should you have a Sports Massage?
As discussed above, an effective Sports Massage will require intense levels of pressure. Sports Massage should therefore be considered as a type of trauma to which you are subjecting your body. As such, physical performance, particularly in power based activities, will be compromised immediately following a Sports Massage. Realistically, we should expect performance to be at least somewhat impaired for 24 hours following a Sports Massage. Therefore, you should try and schedule your Sports Massage appointment for a time when you have a minimum of 24 hours before your next intense training session. Low and moderate intensity training sessions can be performed in closer proximity to your Sports Massage. The key consideration is timing you massage in relation to your next high intensity training session.
If you need any more advice regarding how best to use Sports Massage in order to optimise performance, recovery and health, then please do get in touch.
You can get in touch in one of two ways:
- Send an enquiry through our website contact form. This can be found at the bottom of the Home Page (https://foxwoodpersonaltraining.co.uk)
- Get in touch with Foxwood Personal Training via Instagram DM
Tim Egerton – York Sports Massage Therapy
The EGG
Egerton’s Garage Gym
Foxwood Personal training, York