Sports Massage is the
therapeutic treatment of hands-on massage techniques for the purpose of
increasing circulation, relaxing muscle spasms, relieving tension, enhancing
muscle tone and increasing range of motion.
Sport massage is different from
other forms of massage, as it focuses on the cause of muscle injury or soreness
with the objective of not only relieving the muscular pain, but aiding in the prevention
of future injuries to those muscles. Compression is used to open
and close a muscle area. Specifically,
when a muscle is compressed against a bone, the fibers of that muscle spread
apart, freeing restrictions and adhesions. This allows the blood supply to flow more
easily, carrying oxygen and nutrients to the muscle, while concurrently helping
to remove metabolic waste. Because the
main purpose of sports massage therapy is to help alleviate the stress and
tension that builds up in the body's soft tissues during physical activity,
this type of massage is beneficial to horses and dogs of all disciplines. It
is our job as the practitioner to locate and restore damaged areas
through a customized program of massage therapy.
Did you know:
- 60% of a horse’s body weight is muscle.
- Muscles respond to stress or injury by hypercontraction. This results in unnecessary stress on opposing muscle or joint.
- Muscle soreness can be the result of injury, cooling down too fast, structural or systemic imbalance, overstretching or overuse/misuse.
- Muscles, damaged or not, do not show up on X-Rays.
- Muscle problems are cumulative in nature. If one set of muscles is tight, the horse, like us, will have to overcompensate by tensing up and employing other muscles.
- Like us, horses anticipate pain. Their way of going becomes short and choppy, resulting in an uneven gait.
Benefits of Sports Massage
- Enhances muscle tone and increases range of motion.
- Assists in balancing the body by treating the body as a whole, versus treating each individual part.
- Reduced inflammation and swelling in the joints, thus alleviating pain.
- Promotes healing by increasing the flow of nutrients to the muscles, and carrying away excessive fluids and toxins.
- Creates a positive effect on the contractual and release process of the muscles. When tension is released, the muscles relax.
- Stimulates circulation by warming the muscles, thereby releasing natural pain killers called Endorphins. Improved circulation also increases the excretion of toxins through the skin
- Helps to maintain the whole body in better physical condition
Helpful
Links:
Equissage
www.equissage.com
Horse Breeds - – List of Breeds & Info at Horse Show Central including horseback riding styles and popular color breeds.
International Association of Animal Massage Therapy
www.iaamt.com
Equissage
www.equissage.com
Horse Breeds - – List of Breeds & Info at Horse Show Central including horseback riding styles and popular color breeds.
International Association of Animal Massage Therapy
www.iaamt.com