Dawny Christien – Sports Massage Therapist

Undoubtedly one of the most pleasurable moments for any jobbing Sports Massage Therapist is the delighted face of the runner bounding into the clinic room with the news of a pain free run, which has been completed at a new personal best time. The nagging knee pain gone, the shoulders feeling loose and recovery time down to a day or two.

Sports massage or ‘soft tissue therapy’ is a runner’s best friend really, and as everyone knows, be they jogger or elite, trying to plod through training sessions with tight and sore muscles is just, well, rubbish.  Persisting in this way can also cause biomechanical problems and injury.  Everyone would rather be supple, easy in their steps and full of confidence so that injury won’t be an issue.

Runners often achieve great outcomes with just a single treatment, or the occasional MOT.  However, just as we know a quick jog round the block is no preparation for a 10ker, there is a cumulative effect with sports massage and running performance.

The great news is that as little as 30 minutes each fortnight (or weekly for frequent eventers) improves recovery and deals with the underlying muscle tension and shortness which plagues our preparation. Stopping twinges and tweaks in their tracks is all part and parcel of sports massage, and staying injury free and focussing on performance is what every runner really wants for Christmas!

A mere daily chore for the elites of the sport (though not really very arduous!), sports massage, as the name suggests, has roots in athletic performance, and the evidence is there to support it. It also brings a host of psychological benefits which are difficult to reproduce by other methods. So join the experts and make Sports Massage a diary must have for your training programme.  Contact me, Dawny, at Teddington Osteopaths for more advice.