Most of us focus on the active part of exercise – running the miles or lifting the weights. Still, one of the most important goals of these activities, building muscle, takes place during recovery, not during exercise. For this reason, athletes of all fitness levels are paying equal attention to exercise routines and recovery periods. For many, regular sports massage has become an important tool in the recovery process.
Sports massage is designed to help achieve the best possible performance and conditioning for athletes. Massage therapists generally focus on the areas most affected by the specific type of exercise. For example, a sports massage for a swimmer would focus on the chest and upper back while a cyclist would need attention to the quadriceps.
Regular sports massage increases muscle flexibility, reduces pain and inflammation from overuse and promotes faster recovery times.
Massage Envy recommends regular sports massage. Training massage helps athletes make the most of their exercise routines and can reduce the likelihood of injury, while post-event massages help athletes recover after competition by increasing circulation to remove toxins and soreness and to promote mental relaxation. Professional athletes also arrange pre-event massages that help warm up the muscles in preparation for performance.
Still, don’t think sports massage is just for professional athletes. Anyone who engages in physical activity, including golfers, tennis players, runners, and even weekend ball players, can benefit from incorporating massage into their routine.
In addition to sports massage, many active Massage Envy members take advantage of Massage Envy’s Deep Heat Relief Muscle Therapy. This service enhancement focuses on one of three key areas: back and neck, legs and feet and arms and hands. The special treatment includes warm towel compression to relax muscles, therapeutic heating oil to give a warming sensation and cooling gel which releases tension, decreases pain and invigorates muscle. Deep Heat Relief Muscle Therapy can be added to any therapeutic massage for only $12.
Massage Envy, the country’s leading massage therapy provider, has 29 locations in Arizona, including the Flagstaff center located at 1235 South Plaza Way.
Massage Envy members receive one massage each month with their membership and additional massages at a discounted rate. In addition to sports massage, the centers offer a variety of massage techniques including Swedish, trigger point, reflexology, deep tissue, hot stone, prenatal, cranial sacral and geriatric.
Massage Envy has changed the way people view massage. It’s not a pampering luxury anymore, but an important part of an overall wellness routine. Appointments are available at convenient times as Massage Envy centers are open late seven days a week. Services are also affordable, with introductory massages starting as low $39.
Whatever your reason for making an appointment with one of Massage Envy’s professional, licensed massage therapists, massage will provide health benefits such as reduced heart rate and blood pressure, increased endorphins and relaxation. FBN
Mark Love is co-owner of Massage Envy Flagstaff. For more information on the benefits of massage, go to www.massageenvy.com and http://www.facebook.com/MEFlag.
