The season for summer sports has arrived-make sure you’re at the top of your game by treating your body to healing massage therapy!

Massage should be a part of your health regimen as an exercise enthusiast whether you’re a man or a woman, injured or not. The physical benefits for athletes at all levels are endless; the following is a list of the top 6 benefits that you will experience with therapeutic massage.

• Pumping – The stroking movements in massage draw fluid through blood vessels and lymph vessels. This is especially helpful if you have tight or damaged muscles. Damaged or tight muscles self-destruct by squeezing blood out of the damaged tissue, this means that your damaged muscles will be lacking in the nutrients that they need to heal properly. Massage can counteract this effect by manually pumping nutrients and blood into the deprived and damaged muscles.
• Increased tissue permeability – Deep massage causes the pores in tissue membranes to open, enabling fluids and nutrients to pass through. This helps remove waste products such as lactic acid and encourage the muscles to take up oxygen and nutrients, which help the muscle, recover quicker.
• Stretching – Massage can stretch tissues that could not be stretched using traditional methods. Bundles of muscle fibers are stretched vertically as well as horizontally. Massage can also stretch the sheath or fascia that surrounds the muscle; this allows the tension to release and relieves the muscles of pressure build up.
• Break down scar tissue – Scar tissue is the result of previous injuries or trauma and can affect muscle, tendons and ligaments. Untreated scar tissue can lead to inflexible tissues that are prone to injury and pain.
• Improve tissue elasticity – Hard training can make tissues hard and inelastic. This is one reason why hard training may not result in improvements. Massage helps reverse the hardening of tissue through stretching.
• Opens microcirculation – Massage does increase blood flow to tissues, but so does exercise. Massage adds the additional benefit of opening or dilating the blood vessels and by stretching them this enables nutrients to pass through more easily.

Here at Structura Body Therapies we are concerned with the overall performance of the body and understand the importance of all areas of health and massage therapy. We treat patients with all types of needs from automobile accident related injuries to sports performance work.

Please contact us today for any information needed related to massage or structural integration.call us at 801-897-8711