MASSAGE PRE-EVENT HOW

SPORTS MASSAGE CAN HELP EVENT RIDERS

BY SAM DAPLYN, SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPIST

INTRODUCTION

The use of massage in a sporting context has been employed extensively throughout time, yet there is limited research relating specifically to equine sport, and event riding in particular. Eventing is a demanding sport for both the horse and the rider, yet the importance of pre-competition preparation, while acknowledged, largely focuses on the horse rather than the rider.

Furthermore, the use of massage as a method of recovery and maintenance has been investigated to a great extent in sports, but this research relates to post-event rather than pre-event massage. This article aims to address the need for pre- competition massage for event riders, at all levels, emphasising that this type of preparation should be for both the horse and the rider. The study this article focuses on investigated the effect of a 20-minute pre-event sports massage on four main criteria, all with some role to play in the performance of event riders, namely: n Blood lactate concentration n Heart rate n Skin temperature n Rate of perceived exertion (RPE).

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Eventing has been a recognised Olympic event since 1912. In addition to information on the background and demands of the sport, this article considers which massage techniques are most appropriate for each phase of the competition. It also describes a study that looked at the effect of a 20-minute pre-event sports massage on four main physiological and psychological areas thought to contribute to the performance of event riders. These were blood lactate concentration, heart rate, skin temperature and perceived exertion. The findings have relevance to sports with similar physiological demands, such as horse racing, and they show you, as the practitioner, how your treatment methods can be used in different sporting contexts.

WHAT IS EVENTING? Eventing has been a recognised Olympic event since the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. It started as a way of testing both horses and riders of the mounted cavalry (1) and later evolved into a modern-day sport that demands far more of the rider, as well as the horse. There are three phases of the competition (2): 1. Dressage test 2. Show jumping 3. Cross country.

The order of these phases varies according to the level of the event with the majority of competitions run in the format of dressage, followed by show jumping, followed by cross country.

Clearly, all three phases will place different physiological and psychological demands on the rider, which in turn affects the amount of fatigue they experience in each phase (2). Among Olympic sports as a

whole, most receive more media attention than eventing. This lack of media exposure affects the type and amount of support made available to this specialty (3), and that includes the provision of sports massage. Not surprisingly, the benefits of sports

PRE-EVENT MASSAGE ALONE IS NOT A WARM-UP

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