How to Choose Your Sports Massage Therapist

By Jamie Naquin, LMT

I often hear athletes say, "massage does not work for me."

However, more times than not, athletes have not done their due diligence in selecting the correct sports massage therapist for their specific needs.

In the field of massage, there are many styles and facilities to choose from.

Athletes often ask, "how do I choose which massage style is right for me?"

If you're an athlete, you need a sports massage therapist who can evaluate your unique needs and implement a customized treatment plan for your specific performance goals.

You need a licensed massage therapist who can help you prevent and recover from sports injuries and who can help you perform your best in workouts and competition. Once you find a licensed sports massage therapist who is capable of addressing these criteria, you should see the competitive results you have been seeking.

​Here are three key indicators to look for in a legitimate, sports performance massage therapist...

1. THERAPIST DOES NOT USE A COOKIE CUTTER APPROACH:
Find a licensed massage therapist (LMT) who does not use a cookie-cutter approach. What works for one athlete may not work for you. At the end of the day, we’re all different. We each respond differently to different methods and approaches. Find a therapist who is versatile in their approach to sports massage. The Sports LMT should use customizable pressure, as well as the use of tools. Depending on your condition, you may not be able to handle the immense pressure needed to release muscle tension. If the pressure is too much and the client is fighting against the pressure, that is not good thing for the muscle. The therapist must be able to adjust the pressure to yield the best results. A good way to aid those who aren’t capable of handling the more aggressive pressure is the use of tools to loosen the tissue before using deep pressure. At Therapeutic Muscle Sculpting, we use tools like cupping, scraping, and Theragun to help to loosen up the tissue so that it is more pliable (and less painful) during hands-on bodywork. Sports performance massage is not cheap - make sure the therapist provides the comprehensive range of therapeutic services you need to achieve optimal results!

2. THERAPIST CAN EVALUATE YOUR POSTURE:
A crucial, yet often overlooked aspect of sports performance massage is posture. Posture is often the sneaky culprit in muscular issues, causing pain and dysfunction. We are creatures of habit, and we tend to sit, stand, and sleep in repetitive patterns. We then get stuck in these fixed positions. A sports massage therapist should be able to evaluate your posture and any postural indicators of muscular dysfunction or kinetic chain disruption. Postural issues can reveal clues to muscles that may be overly tense and contracted as well as muscles that are loose and lengthened. Your massage therapist should know how to test the muscle to see if it is firing properly.  At Therapeutic Muscle Sculpting, we use postural analysis to guide our treatment recommendations. Assessment of postures and patterns before and after your sports performance massage is just one way we identify problems and measure your progress.

3. THERAPIST HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE KINETIC CHAIN:
Find a licensed massage therapist who understands the kinetic chain. The kinetic chain is absolutely crucial in any sport. It dictates how well the muscles fire. Do the muscles fire altogether as one unit? Or do the muscles fire independently as they’re supposed to? Sports injuries and pain can be the result of an issue anywhere along the kinetic chain. A sports performance enhancing massage is one that optimizes the kinetic chain to fully unleash your athletic potential. A misfire in the kinetic chain can result in a split second reaction that will make or break your performance. This could be the deciding factor in victory or defeat.

Here at Therapeutic Muscle Sculpting, we offer a unique, comprehensive approach to performance enhancing sports massage to help you unleash your athletic potential.

Call now to book or visit our website to learn more.

Author

Jamie Naquin, LMT has been licensed and practicing in Louisiana since 2007. A former personal trainer, he has superior knowledge of posture and kinetic chain. He is a huge sports enthusiast and works out six days a week. When he’s not working at Therapeutic Muscle Sculpting, you can find him training at Valhalla or enjoying walks in the park with his co-founder and significant other, April.