New Year, New You... New Injury??

Christmas has come and gone and the goose has gotten fat... and the New Year resolutions veer towards getting into shape, right Goose?

If you're starting out in a new fitness regime as part of your New Year's resolutions, it's best to build these things up gradually.  Yes, this may be the less exciting option, but will be more beneficial in the long run and you'll be able to keep up with your new regime longer to increase and improve your fitness levels.

Jumping into things hard and fast also mean you'll be more susceptible to injury; and injury means giving up before you can really begin.  To help avoid injury, sports massage can be a great accompaniment to your new or existing training as it can break down muscle tension caused by over-use and over-extension.

Other benefits of sports massage include, but are not limited to:

- Helping to speed up recovery time and enhance performance
- Increasing blood flow to soft tissues, reducing swelling and eliminating waste materials
- Breaking down scar tissue and helping to address muscular imbalances
- Improving posture and flexibility and restoring mobility
- Releasing muscle tension and encouraging relaxation and stress relief

Including sports massage into any fitness regime - whether new or established - can help you train harder and longer, and most importantly help to avoid injury.  It is an excellent rehabilitation tool and helps to keep the body in good working condition to keep those resolutions going all year long.

What is Sports Massage?

It's massage for sporty people, right?  Not quite...

Sports massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues - muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia - to improve mobility and function.  Of course, as it's name suggests, sports massage can help with training regimes and sporting injuries, but it's suitable for all types of people regardless of age, gender or activity level.

We use our muscles all the time; so whether you're training for a marathon, sitting at a desk all day, or even digging up the garden, massage can help to improve flexibility and posture as muscle tension can affect anyone.  Bad backs, sprains and tension headaches to name a few can all benefit from massage.

So perhaps 'sports' massage isn't the most descriptive term, but what's in a name when it's the results that really matter.