9 Great Benefits of Sports Massage

While many people go to get massages just to destress and provide themselves with some pain relief, athletes may want to get massages for other reasons: performance and recovery. Professional athletes consistently get these sports massage benefits, so why not try them out for yourself?

1. Accelerates Recovery
   One of the primary benefits of sports massage is speeding up the recovery process after training or injury. The massage can promote new tissue growth, provide better-quality tissue repair, and minimize scar tissue. This is why professional athletes and dancers get sports massages often, especially after an injury. Every minute off the field can have ramifications for their careers.
2. Enhances Mobility
   Flexibility and mobility are crucial in a wide range of physical activities. That’s why sports massage can increase joint range of motion through stretching and enhancing the synovial fluid within the joints. Overall, this can decrease muscle stiffness, allowing for more freedom and efficiency of movement. 
3. Boosts Performance
   Regular sports therapy sessions can also improve your overall athletic performance over time. Regular sports therapy helps improve your muscles' speed and explosive potential by stretching out and activating the muscles and connective tissues. It can optimize an athlete's ability to perform at the highest levels in most sports and is used for this purpose by many professional sports associations.
4. Promotes Relaxation
   By activating the parasympathetic nervous system, you can get some fantastic benefits. One of the major ones is achieving a deep state of relaxation, which can happen after most sessions. Given the detrimental effects of chronic stress on the body, this aspect is a hidden benefit of sports massage even to one’s overall performance on the field. Sports therapy can help athletes maintain peak performance while benefiting one’s general well-being.
5. Improves Circulation
   The pressure running through the muscles and connective tissues achieved through sports massage also leads to enhanced blood circulation. This is good for the body for many reasons, including better nutrient and oxygen delivery throughout the body, ensuring your muscles receive the nourishment they need while more efficiently eliminating the waste byproducts produced by your muscles when exerting them intensely. 
6. Triggers Endorphin Release
   The famous feel-good hormones, endorphins, are released in abundance during and after a sports massage session, not unlike a workout session. These natural painkillers not only elevate one’s mood but also significantly reduce pain, providing both a natural and enjoyable form of pain management. The release and circulation of endorphins, along with other pleasurable hormones, are among the most enjoyable benefits of sports massage.
7. Reduces Risk of Injury
   In addition to helping you to recover from an injury, a benefit of sports massage can help to reduce the risk of future injury. This can be especially helpful for stiff, problem areas that are generally at a greater risk of injury. A good sports massage can help prevent a minor injury from worsening, which is almost a greater benefit than reducing the recovery time of more severe injuries. Of course, it’s better to let the injury rest if you can, but that luxury isn’t always available. For some, their career or livelihood relies on getting back on the field as soon as possible This makes getting a sports massage the next best preventative measure available. 
8. Enhances Mental Focus
   Beyond relaxation and general good feelings, deep tissue sports massage can also help with concentration and mental acuity. Not only does the relaxation help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, but the mental clarity it provides can help athletes get into a state of flow, improving their focus on the game. Flow states allow your habits to take over the regular parts of the game while freeing up the rest of your mind to make breakneck decisions, consider strategies, and otherwise stay alert to the playing field.
9. Improves your Quality of Sleep
   Many people neglect their sleep quality, seeing it as just a chunk of unproductive time at the end of the day. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The state of deep relaxation and destress that regular sports massages provide can allow you to enter deeper stages of sleep for longer at night. The current working theory on sleep is that it helps to flush out the brain and nervous system so that better quality sleep means greater mental acuity the next day. If you have regular insomnia or restless sleep, deep tissue sports massage can also help alleviate these. Beyond a better mental state, good quality sleep has also been correlated with improved recovery times, higher energy levels, and overall better performance in physical activities. So, don’t let sleep be something you neglect, or you may come to regret it the day of the big game.