Master Sports Massage: A Practical Guide for Busy Practitioners (Master Massage-Practical Guides for Busy Practitioners)

Master Sports Massage and take your practice to new heights. This practical guide will teach the Sports Massage practitioner how to effectively work with athletes of any ability engaged in any sport -- whether they are professional soccer players or weekend golfers. The goal of Sports Massage is to ultimately prepare the athlete for performing at peak all life long.Based on a tensegrity model of human anatomy and physiology, this guide teaches the practitioner how to assess the athlete’s presenting condition and then sequence effective massage techniques, stretching protocols, thermo-therapies, and other key modalities to enhance performance, speed recovery times, avoid injury, and rehabilitate existing injuries more completely.Manual massage techniques used in Master Sports Massage include special forms of compression, effleurage, friction, joint jostling, lymphatic draináge, myofascial release, neuro-muscular therapy (including PNF techniques), positional release (Strain/Counter-Strain), tapotement, traction, and vibration. These movements and techniques are skillfully employed to help the athlete achieve maximum performance and physical conditioning with a decreased chance of injury and provide a quicker recovery from workouts or competitions.Detailed instructions for adhesion release and scar revision, along with powerful kinetic chain release protocols help the athlete achieve maximum physical conditioning for optimal performance.In this guide we also explore the principles and practices of flexibility training using static and dynamic stretching techniques, including highly effective proprioceptive neurological facilitated stretching. Stretching not only conditions greater flexibility into the athlete’s myofascial system, it alters neurological feedback loops in ways that diminish the risk of injuries and cramping.Thermal therapies and sports taping are also covered to assure the Sports Massage practitioner understands the principles and correct application of these adjunctive therapies for maximum effect.Specific guidance to help determine which techniques to use for pre-event, inter-event, and post-event protocols to assist in a rapid recovery are included, along with key sports psychology concepts to help the athlete prepare for a training smarter, recovering faster, and winning more.Master Sports Massage includes:Keys to an accurate assessment of the athlete’s condition, sports, and training cycles.Motivation to engage in constructive collaboration with other professionals on the athlete’s training team to create a comprehensive plan of action.Step-by-step instructions for applying manual massage techniques along with thermal therapies and stretching protocols with continuous assessment of the results while taking into consideration the athlete’s training cycles.Pro tips to assist the athlete in targeted visualization and breath control protocols.Encouragement to educate the athlete about after-care activities to relieve post-massage soreness as well as kinetic training tips to fine-tune their posture and acture to improve performance.This indispensable guide is filled with evidence-based techniques, supportive anatomy and physiology briefs, and plenty of easy to understand principles and practices to instill confidence in the massage practitioner or physiotherapist who wants to Master Sports Massage Read more