EVIDENCE-BASED MASSAGE: PART 2

BY NICK DINSDALE AND NICOLA DINSDALE, GRADUATE SPORTS THERAPISTS AND SPORTS MASAGE PRACTITIONERS

INTRODUCTION

This article explores the role of sports massage, its effects, and the growing demand from elite athletes for it. The practice of massage has long been considered an integral part of sports preparation, conditioning and recovery (1,2). Since the time of ancient Greece, massage and sport have co-existed together, but it was not until the Munich Olympics in 1972 – when Lasse Viren attributed the two gold medals he won to a daily massage (1) – that massage became synonymous with sporting achievement (3).

What is sports massage? Much has been published on the subject of sports massage, yet according to Ashton and Cassell (4) “sports massage is a concept rather than an actual technique because any technique can be used.” Expanding on this concept, we could say that “sports massage” is simply “massage in sport” that is administered to athletes to improve their athletic performance. According to Stiles (5) sports massage can be considered as “the application of soft tissue manipulation techniques on an individual regardless of their

BRITISH CYCLING SENT FOUR MASSAGE THERAPISTS TO THE 2008 BEIJING OLYMPICS

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In the second part of his examination of the evidence and practise of massage (part I appeared in the October 2009 issue), Nick Dinsdale looks more closely at what sports massage is, the growing demand for it, its aims and effects and the perceived benefits it brings, all in the context of the current evidence base. Recognising that robust research is somewhat lacking in this area, but that the potential of sports massage in the future is enormous, he sums up with a very encouraging “take-home message” for all those involved in its practice.

AN ACTUAL TECHNIQUE

SPORTS MASSAGE IS A CONCEPT RATHER THAN

stage of athletic development for the purpose of improving athletic performance”. Classical Western or Swedish massage are the forms that are most commonly used in sport (6). They both involve effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, friction and vibration (6,7). The effects are achieved through mechanical, physiological and psychological processes and the inter- relation between the three (8).

THE GROWING DEMAND FOR SPORTS MASSAGE Although research into sports massage raises more questions than it answers (9), there remains a clear belief in its benefits (1,10,11,12). Sports massage maintains a high profile and is more and more widely recognised by both professional and recreational athletes, especially those involved in contact sports or highly physical

sports. Between 1987 and 1998 physiotherapists spent a large amount of their treatment time providing massage to athletes during major athletic events (13). Since the recent formation of the Sports Massage Association (SMA) experienced sports massage therapists have become an essential part of athletes’ support teams at major events like the Olympics (14), the Commonwealth Games and the Paralympics (15). British Cycling (16) sent four massage therapists to the 2008 Beijing Olympics to provide team support.

WHAT IS THE AIM OF SPORTS MASSAGE? A consensus of literature clearly states that the aim of sports massage is to enhance athletic performance. Consequently, athletes use pre-event massage to prepare for training or competition. They use post-event massage to aid recovery, regular conditioning massage to reduce injury risk (1,7,12,17,18), and massage to assist in treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries (9,19). Occasionally massage

sportEX dynamics 2010;23(Jan):10-13