Physiotherapy Services
Sports Massage
Sports Massage is a massage technique that manipulates soft tissue to ease pain, reduce tension, improve muscle growth, and expand range of motion.
For athletes, a sports massage can help reduce recovery time and keep your training plans on track. For individuals suffering from musculoskeletal disorders or injuries, a sports massage can be part of a physiotherapy treatment, by helping to stretch muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues, and improve blood flow to reduce pain, prevent injuries, and aid post-injury rehabilitation.
What is a Sports Massage?
In brief, a sports massage is a type of massage that consists of the manual manipulation of muscles to aid in growth, recovery, and injury prevention for people regularly engaged in physical activity or intense exercise. By manipulating soft tissue, Sports Massage can address muscle symmetry, tone, balance, and range of motion through a diverse set of techniques.
The amazing benefits of Sports Massage are manifold. Whether you’re an athlete or non-athlete, a session with a trained therapist can increase your range of motion, reduce inflammation, alleviate pain, prevent injuries, enhance sports performance, or simply relax the body.
At HelloPhysio, our physiotherapist and professional sports massage therapist utilize a diverse range of massage techniques, making our clinic the ideal choice to treat injuries or to maintain overall muscle, joint and connective tissue health.
Our skilled sports massage therapist will analyze your symptoms and effectively cater a specific solution unique to your body, first by locating the root cause of your injury or tension and then treating its impact on the rest of the body.
Benefits of Sports Massage
The benefits of Sports Massage sessions include pain relief, injury prevention, and improved performance post-injury. It aids in loosening and lengthening tight, shortened muscles. Therapy also prevents delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and improves blood flow. A massage session can enhance the threshold for muscle fatigue and even balance the mood fluctuations caused by endorphin release.
By enhancing muscle function, balance, tone, symmetry, and range of motion, both professional and recreational athletes can return to peak performance and get back on track as recreational runners, triathletes, or professional sports athletes.
Types of Sports Massage Techniques
Many athletes come to HelloPhysio for therapeutic sessions before an athletic event, following a race or competition, as part of their ongoing training as maintenance. Our specialized sports massage therapists use three main techniques: effleurage, petrissage, and friction. Effleurage uses soothing strokes to enhance circulation and stimulate the nerves. Petrissage kneads and stretches muscles while reducing tension. Friction massages break down scar tissue by separating muscle fibres.
A pre-event massage is typically performed on the day of physical activity and is used to warm up and stimulate muscles, preparing them for activity by increasing blood flow and targeting the relevant muscles to the event.
A post-event massage occurs immediately after the physical activity or competition to reduce lactic-acid buildup and muscle tension, which will then limit soreness by increasing blood circulation to muscles. Through compressive effleurage, a therapist will target and calm the nervous system, or reduce muscle tension through petrissage.
If you’re a seasoned athlete that consistently trains for marathons, triathlons, or ultras, a sports massage session balances training with recovery and decreases potential risk of injury. As part of an athlete’s training regimen, Sports Massage elevates blood flow and nutrient uptake to muscles and enhances the full range of motion and flexibility. Rehabilitative sports massages can also be used to improve recovery time further and ease pain by targeting inflammation and breaking down scar tissue. It can also address muscle flexibility and lower an athlete’s probability of reinjuring problem areas.
Sports Massage in Singapore can be a standalone session or a part of your ongoing physiotherapy treatment plan.
Sports Massage FAQs
Sports massages are performed by trained therapists who have experience working with athletes or people involved in regular, strenuous physical activity. Sports massages differ from other types of therapeutic massages because they focus on specific areas of the body and treat problems related to muscles and joints caused by overuse, injury, or strenuous exercise. The main goal is to increase blood flow through targeted pressure applied to problem areas. Some common conditions treated with sports massages include muscle tightness, tension headaches, fatigue, joint pain/stiffness, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow and post-workout soreness.
A sports massage is a type of therapeutic massage therapy that focuses on the soft tissue of the body and is not only beneficial to athletes. Massage therapy has been practiced for centuries and works in conjunction with the body’s natural healing process. To release muscle tension or knots that have built up over time, a sports massage therapist will use techniques such as friction, pressure, or stretching. According to studies, this not only helps increase range of motion but also reduces pain levels. This means that even if you don’t engage in any type of physical activity, you could benefit from a therapeutic massage.
Sports massages work by reducing stress and increasing range of motion in the affected area. There are numerous advantages to Sports Massage Therapy, including increased joint range of motion, decreased muscle tension and spasms, and improved blood circulation, which aid in the healing of damaged tissue or muscles following an injury. Sports massage can be used to treat the symptoms of any injury, whether it’s a back injury, neck pain, or shoulder strain. Sports massage aids in the recovery of injuries by increasing the flow of blood and lymph fluid. It can also help with the pain associated with spasms and cramps, which are common among athletes.
It’s a myth that lactic acid gives our muscles that “burning” sensation when we work out too vigorously or too long from exercise. Research has shown that lactate is continuously being formed even when our muscles have plenty of oxygen, can be used as a source of energy, and is a byproduct needed for strength training. Lactic acid actually acts as a buffer to slow down fatigue by absorbing hydrogen ions that are released for muscle contraction when adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is broken down. A sports massage helps to flush out hydrogen ions that accumulate during the catabolic reaction process.
Sports Massage Therapy is an excellent way to relax and prepare for a big race event! Getting a sports massage 3 to 5 days before a big race can help you feel at-ease and prepared. Many athletes visit our clinic for sessions prior to a sporting event. We provide both pre-race and post-race sessions in order to meet the needs of all of our clients. All of our therapists have received specialized training in how to treat injured runners as well as other types of professional athletes such as cyclists and triathletes.
We feel it’s important to mention this because we understand an athlete’s physical demands and how to assist them in recovering from injury or getting back on their feet quickly. If you’re looking for Sports Massage Therapy, then you’ve come to the right place.
Many people enjoy sports massage for its many benefits, but it can be dangerous in some cases. Individuals who have bleeding disorders or low platelet counts should exercise extra caution because their body’s pain receptors may not allow them to tell if the pressure is too much until after treatment has been completed. In addition, those who have cancer or open wounds should seek the advice of our practitioners before a Sports Massage Therapy session. It is important for people with these conditions to inform their therapist, so they can provide proper treatment.
HelloPhysio paves the way with both traditional physical therapy and the latest technologies to reduce pain, re-establish movement patterns, and activate muscles so that you can return to your daily life.
Physiotherapy treatment plans are different for each client customized to fit an individual’s needs, injury and lifestyle. Treatments from HelloPhysio may be eligible for claims through your health insurance provider.
Contact us today to arrange a session with a senior physiotherapist to discuss a targeted treatment plan.
Phone: +65 8787 3198
Email: hello@hellophysio.sg
HelloPhysio
101 Irrawaddy Road
Royal Square #10-12
Singapore 329565
Using manual therapy with proper adjunctive state-of-the-art equipment to enhance tissue healing, our physiotherapists help clients return to pain-free movement faster. Each physiotherapy rehab plan is never the same for each client as we believe in a personalized physio treatment to address each individual’s musculoskeletal injury and life stressors.
We always believe in going one step more at our rehab center in Singapore by providing continuous care that extends beyond just the physical session to adding Telehealth as part of physio treatment plans. From traditional to sports physiotherapy in Singapore, our clinic incorporates the lastest evidenced-based modalities into patient care.
EMTT® is an advanced technology developed in Switzerland for the treatment of bone, tendon, muscle, nerve and ligament injuries or disorders throughout the body. This is a state-of-the-art therapy is a non-invasive, safe alternative to steroid injections and other interventions.
EMTT can be used to as a pain relief practice to reduce inflammation in difficult to treat conditions such as bone injuries, stress fractures and arthritic joints. We also use of the technology in harder-to-treatment of conditions such as tendinopathies at our Novena physiotherapy clinic in Singapore.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) uses shockwaves outside of the body to harness intense short energy waves to reduce pain and heal chronic orthopedic conditions at our rehab center in Singapore. It is a non-invasive but powerful adjunctive physiotherapy treatment that delivers acoustic waves to injured soft tissue to for pain relief and to promote healing.
Using both Focal and Radial ESWT at our physiotherapy clinic, Shockwave Therapy a non-invasive treatment to assist with quick healing of injured tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, bone, etc) at a cellular level. Shockwave works by activating a tissue response by making tissues restart the healing faster while creating minimal scarring.
Being one of the very few physio clinics in Singapore to fully utilized INDIBA for active rehab, we are proud to say our clients who have received the radiofrequency treatment have reported a decrease in pain immediately post treatment.
INDIBA uses one-of-a-kind long wave radiofrequency of 448 kHz frequency to treat acute, subacute and chronic states of injury. INDIBA creates a therapeutic physio treatment with manual or sports physiotherapy to facilitate tissue recovery while decreasing pain.
Clinical Pilates is instructed by our highly-experienced trainers to promote strong, stable movement to build muscle strength, improve range of motion, activate postural muscles and the body-brain connection for integrated movement patterns.
As part of our Singapore rehab center, Clinical Pilates targets spine and pelvis alignment in conjunction with breathing and inner core muscles to balance and strengthen the body. Each session may use various rehab techniques, including Pilates reformers, barrel, Stahl bars and other physiotherapy equipment.
Sports Massage uses intense, detailed manipulation of the soft tissue – muscles, tendons, joint capsules, and fascia – targeted at trouble spots. Specializing in injury management and chronic pain relief massage, and as part of our Singapore sports physio treatments, sports massage therapy helps enhance athletic performance by preventing training injuries and decreasing recovery time.
The massage sessions are highly focused with applied techniques, including myofascial release, deep compression, muscle stripping, and friction, trigger point therapy, stretching, and corrective exercises.
Red Light Therapy at HelloPhysio energizes cells to drive a host of physiological processes in the body by interacting at the cellular level to restore normal cell function.
Also known as Photobiomodulation, the near infrared therapy improves blood circulation, increases the rate of recovery after injuries, decreases pain and inflammation, boosts energy levels, improves muscle performance, aids in sleep, and a host of other benefits.
As a treatment option at our Novena physiotherapy clinic, Dry Needling is a popular and effective means to treat pain using a sterile needle inserted to trigger points of the muscle and/or fascia to activate our body’s response for a natural anti-inflammatory recovery process, especially for sports physiotherapy clients. Trigger points are targeted by dry needling as other techniques may not be able to go so deep.
Lymphatic Drainage Therapy (LDT) is a gentle and non-invasive technique that activates the body’s circulation to help the immune system by working with the interstitial and lymphatic system.
Craniosacral therapy is a non-invasive process balancing the powerful flow of the cerebrospinal fluids and the nervous system. It is used to activate the body to self heal and restore body balance as part of our services at our physio rehab center in Singapore.
When the COVID pandemic hit globally, rehabilitation and pain relief practice was mandated to go online as physical therapy care at our physio clinics was restricted. The use of digital communication to provide quality treatments ensured continuity and accessibility of care. From that, we realized the effectiveness and the efficiency of telehealth for physiotherapy and rehab.
Research supports telehealth’s benefits to maintain positive client outcomes, especially when it comes to physiotherapy treatment and rehab in Singapore. We all know that life post pandemic has changed and we will continue to provide Telehealth to clients who meet the needs of online consultation.