·         Relieve Sore Tight Muscles

·         Increase Flexibility, Strength & Speed

·         Reduce Injury / Recover Quicker

Are you a dedicated athlete, you know the kind of person who is always training, always compelled to workout and move, even when you’d rather stay home and vegge? Are you looking for ways to improve your sports performance to be more effective, smoother, and quicker, more in control? Do you train more than 3 days per week,  maybe add weight lifting, running or other cross training activities to enhance your skill?

Does your body reward you for how hard you’ve been working?  Do you feel powerful and graceful like a panther? Are you flexible, quick, in the moment and ready to do your best?  Or, have you noticed that even with a lot of pre-stretching that your hamstrings, quads or adductors remain tight and prevent you from being as quick and flexible as you know you can be. Maybe your neck and low back is stiff, or your shoulders feel like you need rotator cuff surgery. Maybe between workouts your body is stiff and achy feeling like it needs a lube job just to get going.

Hi, my name is Grace Mosgeller. I am a massage therapist and an active black belt in traditional Japanese jujitsu. I specialize in massage for athletes because I know firsthand how amazingly effective simple massage techniques can be to relieve sore tight muscles, increase flexibility, strength and speed.

Length = Strength

Muscle is strongest when it contracts from its resting length. This is because at resting length, the muscle is optimally positioned to contract fully. If the muscle is held in constant contraction or stretched too far, it cannot generate as much force as from its resting length. Think of a piece of Velcro just a little bit shorter than your hamstring. When you go to throw a kick, because it is short, your quads cannot fully extend or at full speed.

No two muscles work the exact same action; they work in groups to create smooth fluid motions. If one muscle is weak, others that it normally works with will do its job for it to compensate, but with out full function.

Causes of muscle weakness:

·         Atrophy from non use

·         Ischemia / adhesions from chronic overuse or injury

o   Ischemia (lack of blood…lack of O2 to make ATP, so energy crisis. Muscles unable to contract or relax. Muscles become weak and tight or hard.

o   Dysfunction: ischemic muscles become painful and weak, rom limited by pain, strength and mobility decreased.

·         Fatigue after a hard workout

·         Neural deficits from nerve compression or degenerative diseases

·         Energy imbalances.

Connective Tissue: Fascia

·         Every structure in our body is enclosed, supported, protected, differentiated and held together by connective tissue. An example of fascia is the white filmy, stringy substance you see around chicken. It also collects fat.

·         The more loose and pliable the fascia, the more free our muscles, capillaries and lymph have to do their job properly. Fluid and chemical exchanges occur more readily contributing to homeostasis and health.

·         Tight fascia restricts the contraction of muscles, blood vessels, nerve endings, lymph resulting in symptoms of decreased rom, stiffness, pain, and muscle weakness.

·         Causes of tight fascia: injury, inflammation, aging, dehydration, sedentary lifestyle, cold and dry climates.

·         Stretching, exercising, proper hydration, deep bodywork, warm and moist climates will cause connective tissue to become more pliable, slippery and “healthy”

Injury:

·         In response to injury, scar tissue is laid down to repair the damage. The adhesions that form as a result of this decrease rom and function of the muscles involved.

·         Reinjures are very common, because most people resume activities before healing when their pain subsides. Pain subsides when injury is only 1/3 healed.

Regular Sports massage in general:

·         Increases cellular nutrition

·         Decreases edema

·         Increased toxin removal

·         Decreased muscle pain, muscle fatigue

·         Increases work capability of your muscles

·         Increases metabolism

·         Manually empties lymph: decreases edema, decreases tendency toward fibrosis

·         Relaxes muscles, separates fibers, increases flexibility, decrease spasm, decreased pain, removes, reduces adhesions, increases body awareness

Pre event:

·         Within 1.5 hours of event

·         Used in conjunction with warm up to invigorate, and give your muscles an extra edge before event

Post Event:

·         After cool down, 15 minutes to 2 hours post event or training

·         Relief from exhaustion, relax tight muscles and muscle groups, relieve cramps, reduce post competition soreness

·         Recover faster w/o pain

Regular massage:

·         Combo of relaxation deep tissue massage w/ focus to increase flexibility, strength and rom

 

 

Athletes who are body aware get injuries taken care of. If  your injuries not taken care of right away, your body compensates, your gait becomes different, you may loose ROM and strength and other new injuries may crop up.

         Schedule Your Appointment Today! 
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