Difference Between Sports and Deep Tissue Massage

  • Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage is a short focused massage to release tension in the Neck & Shoulders
  • Choose Sports massage over deep tissue massage when you go to the gym with a specific sporting goal in mind, i.e. you are going for more than just generally keeping fit.  Or you are really focused on your sport including actively taking part in competitions or you are keen to improve your performance or your training is solely focused on your sport and you do not cross train.


Sports Massage Deep Tissue Massage
Incorporates Deep Pressure Yes Yes
Similar massage stokes Yes Yes
Releases muscle tension, pain, physical stress and stiffness while restoring flexibility Yes Yes
Able to resolve common injuries and woes for inactive, desk bound people Yes Yes
Incorporates a custom blend of oils and hot stones to relieve tension and anxiety No Yes
Athlete orientated including

–      Focus on improving athletic performance

–      Incorporates stretching

–      Assessing injury risk

–      Rehabilitation after injury

 Yes No
Knowledge of sport

–     Able to deliver specific pre-exercise treatment for any given sport

–     Able to deliver specific post-exercise treatment for any given sport

–     Able to deliver specific treatment during intense training for any given sport

 Yes No

 

Related Posts

  • Tips to prevent lower back pain.

    While on holiday I suddenly moved and strained my lower back muscles.  My muscle strain was sorted out by a combination of massage, stretches and back exercises.  So as I have now returned from sunny Bulgaria I thought I would remind people (including me) how to preventing lower back pain.

    1. Avoid sudden jerky movements. (Note to self, that includes while on holiday).
    2. Never slouch.
    3. Switch sitting positions often and periodically walk around or gently stretch muscles to relieve tension.
    4. Don’t bend over without supporting your back.
    5. Try to maintain your ideal body weight.  Too much upper body weight can strain your lower back.
    6. Sleep on your side to reduce any curve in your spine, and always sleep on a firm surface.
    7. Lift with your legs.
    8. If you smoke, quit.  Smoking reduces blood flow to the lower spine and causes the spinal discs to degenerate.
    9.  Wear flat shoes with cushioned soles as they can help reduce the pressure on your back.
    10. Regular exercise, such as walking and swimming, is an excellent way of preventing back pain.  In addition Yoga & Pilates can strengthen your core muscles reducing the strain on your back and improving the flexibility of your spine.

  • Natural ways to reduce anxiety – Part 4

    Following on from my last post on calm breathing, I want to introduce you to calming counting.  The advantage of this technique over calm breathing is that it helps you stop focusing on worried thoughts! Calming Counting

    1. Sit comfortably.
    2. Take a long, deep breath and exhale it slowly while saying the word "relax" silently.
    3. Close your eyes.
    4. Let yourself take ten natural, easy breaths. Count down with each exhale, starting with "ten."
    5. This time, while you are breathing comfortably, notice any tensions, perhaps in your jaw or forehead or stomach. Imagine those tensions loosening.
    6. When you reach "one," open your eyes again.
    As claming counts takes about 90 seconds this is precious time that your body gets to relax and quieten your mind. It is perfectly possible to do this on your commute, as long as you don't drive or at your desk or even in the loo!  

  • The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 7

    There is a wide range of American start up companies, creating technology solutions to combat the new "sitting disease".  In previous posts I have discussed in the impact of sitting all day

    In my post, "Taking a Break", I explored the reasons for taking a break and looked at the latest research on the length of break you need to take and the frequency.  In my last blog post, "Get Moving" I looked at how you can move while working.  In this post I want to review the technology solutions that are out there. Activity Trackers Most of the technology solutions currently available are wearable activity trackers. These products are basically advanced sensors that come embedded inside of bracelets or clips that hook onto your clothing. They measure your daily activity (steps taken and calories burned), sleep, and through an associated app, diet.  Below I list some of the common trackers.
    • 1. Apple Watch
    Everyone knows that Apple is about to launch the Apple Watch which will have a plethora of health and fitness functionalities. However the Apple Watch heavily relies on the iPhone to function and is not really considered a standalone device. But I want to focus on one interesting feature which is that ten minutes before each hour, the Apple Watch taps on their arms as an alert to ecourage you to stay active or just simply stand up. I can see this being essential for people who want to stay active but find they lose track of time when they work.
    • 2. Jawbone UP
    The company’s wearable activity tracker, Jawbone UP includes a step counter, sleep tracker and an idle alert, which offers reminders to users by buzzing if they are inactive. What is neat about Jawbone is that it links to your calendar from your iPhone and see what your schedule is with meetings and we can say — rather than buzzing you during the middle of your board meeting — we can actually wait until the end and give you some insight.
    • 3. Nike+ Fuelband
    What is good about the Nike+ Fuelband activity tracker is that lets you set an activity goal, you can press a button on an LED screen to check your progress, and displays a green light when you have achieved your goal.  However it can be inaccurate if for some reason you happen to move your hands swiftly throughout the day.
    • 4. Fitbit One
    Fitbit One is the best holistic tracking of activity, diet and sleep and is good value compared to some of the other activity trackers. The app creates graphs, charts and tools based on your data and lets you easily log food, water, weight, food plans and more.  It is especially good for women as you can clip it in the center of your bra, rather than trying to blend in a wrist based activity tracker with your outfit. Applications “I'll help you unclog your mind and uncramp your body”, is the promise of HotSeat health app that turns short breaks into meaningful activity through nudges and social accountability.  What I like about this application is that it allows you to create competition - which are always very motivational! Darma - The Hitech Cushion Digital health upstart Darma have developed a cushion that aims to help people take control of their sitting habits.  It helps you remember to maintain good posture when sitting down for long periods of time. The cushion contains one millimeter-thick fiber optic sensors that sense the user’s movements. The pillow also has embedded sensors that detect heart rate, stress level, and respiration. All of this information is sent to a companion app on the user’s smartphone. The app can then track a user’s stress level, sitting time, and posture and try to motivate users to get up every now and then. It will also alert users when they’ve slipped into a bad position and explain how to correct their posture. If users are feeling back pain, the app can guide them through stretches that might help relieve it.  To me this more directly provides relevant information to help my clients than some of the more wearable technology solutions.  I am looking forward to its launch later this year, until then there is always massage!