Powerthlete - Sports Massage

Long awaited, but finally arrived! 🙌🏻

Suffering from Muscle Cramps?

Muscle cramps are sudden involuntary contractions that occur in various muscle groups.

They can be sudden, a sharp pain, lasting from a few seconds to 10+ minutes. They are extremely uncomfortable, painful, and can have a post effect of feeling sore and tender for several days.

What causes muscle cramps?

1. Dehydration *loss of fluids with insufficient uptake of sodium
2. Low levels of the following minerals that contribute to healthy muscle function: calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium
3. Overuse of your muscles (pre-existing tight sports in muscles will further enhance this)
4. Certain medical conditions

How to prevent muscle cramps
- If participating in long (2hrs +) or arduous activity and know your sweat rate (how much you sweat), ensure to pre-load with a strong electrolyte pre/during/post events to ensure minerals are high so that muscles can function properly.

- Try not drinking too much water (overhydration), as this too can be dangerous, diluting sodium and other electrolyte levels resulting in the same outcome - use common sense and drink appropriately with a mix of water/electrolyte solution.

- Ensure to stretch appropriately and specific to your activity before and after.

- If suffering from spontaneous muscle cramps, look at supplementing with calcium/potassium/magnesium/sodium, or have a test done to see what you're deficient in.

- Ensure muscles are well rested and recovered before training.

- Eating well with the right proportion of different foods will also aid in keeping your minerals topped up (milk, orange juice and bananas are high in calcium and potassium).

Treatment
Apply gentle stretching until the muscle relax
Apply a hot/cold pad/cloth to the area
Anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen) aided by gentle stretching

Alternatively, if you feel that your muscles are tight and you've previously had episodes of spasms, have a sports massage or ask for advice!

As lock down is starting to ease off, why not give your body a once over to ensure you have a new spring in your step!
Sports massage enforces the connective and muscle tissues to relax, reducing muscle tension, pain and increasing range of motion. By focusing on parts of the body that need the most attention, deep pressure can be applied, melting away tightness, adhesion and tension.
Sports massage helps lower the heart rate, lower blood pressure, stimulate the release of feel good hormones and boost relaxation.
Massage techniques are used to promote vasodilation (widening of your blood vessels) that allows increased flow of blood and lymph in superficial tissue, thus enabling nutrients and oxygen to flow through, flushing waste products that have built up causing soreness, aches and pains. This also helps people recover quicker from a harder training session!
The power of touch is also known to boost immune system and decrease cortisol (the stress hormone).
If you have been staring at a monitor all day and are experiencing headaches, at the end of the massage session I perform a sub-occipital release technique that focuses on relaxing the fascia surrounding the base of the skull to provide relief to those who are experiencing headaches - have you ever had this done?
There are many other techniques I apply that will fix you up which your body will thank you for later!
I offer a 'Come to you service' so there is no need to worry about mingling with others on public transport or being stuck in traffic.
You will be doing me a big favour by sharing this post with friends and colleagues.
Any referrals will be reflected in your fee!