Oct18-24 has been a pretty stressful week for me. Work has been hell and each day is like on a roller coaster ride that is the most thrilling, scariest, non stop excitement. Working like a bull on the farm from sunrise till the wee hours of the morning to ensure that the farmer has a good harvest. Both my partner and I new to the team, having limited knowledge on the flows and systems, we are both struggling like a fish trapped on land and surviving as hard as we can. Each day was always a new challenge and a new thrilling roller coaster ride. Living each day on the edge of the roller coaster ride was a heart rising experience. Having a religious function on a sat for the family esp a religious send off for my parents to the holy land in Nov doesn't help either. Being bogged down with work the whole week, there are tons to be done for the function. Though food was catered, arranging the food, displaying the food, getting the fruits, miscellaneous etc was a chore.. Frankly, Sunday, 24 Oct 10 is my only officially rest day. Starting the day ay 5 am with a Nike City Run at 7am followed by a sports massage and ending the day with a concert. Well, the tiredness of the family function ripped me off the NIKE CITY RUN. Though I am awake by 5am, my body is calling for a rest. Skipped the run and went back to bed and was awake by 9am. Surf the net for an hour before activating my siblings to assist in cleaning the house, washing the pots and pans, sweeping and mopping the floor…. By the time, we are done, it is 1:30pm. With the hands of 3 humans, things get done faster. Met my friend, Jerry, a Fitness Instructor, with a degree is Sports Science to assist me in my muscular relaxation as the running lately has me aching or rather tensed up. Man, I would say, sports massage is different is Thai/Oil/Aroma Therapy Massage. MassageSports massage optimizes the sportsperson's ability to train and compete at their maximum level of performance and plays an essential role in preventing injuries. Our sports therapists are not only experts in the anatomy and physiology, but understand the particular demands of the body at your specific sport.
Applying a sports massage after a heavy training will help the muscle to relax, improve the circulation and restore the flexibility. This allows for a quicker recovery and return to training without the usual stiffness and soreness.
Sports massage will often utilize a variety of modalities such as remedial massage, trigger point therapy, cross fibre techniques and deep tissue work. It can be used alone or in combination with physiotherapy.
Sports massage can achieve excellent results in the treatment of:
- Muscle strains
- ITB pain
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
- Shin pain
- Fasciitis plantaris
- and more
Sports massage was designed for athletes, but is useful for anyone with chronic pain, injury or range-of-motion issues.
Sports massage was originally developed to help athletes prepare their bodies for optimal performance, recover after a big event, or function well during training. Sports massage emphasizes prevention and healing of injuries to the muscles and tendons.
But you don't have to be in the Olympics to benefit from sports massage. Sports massage is also good for people with injuries, chronic pain or restricted range of motion. The massage therapist generally concentrates on a specific problem area. (Sore neck and shoulders, anyone?) This is the type of sports massage that you see in the spa.
What Happens During Sports Massage?
Sports massage is a type of Swedish massage that stimulates circulation of blood and lymph fluids. Some sports massage movements use trigger point therapy to break down adhesions (knots in the muscles) and increase range of motion.
There are four types of sports massages:
* pre-event sports massage -- a short, stimulating massage 15 - 45 minutes before the event. It is directed toward the parts of the body that will be involved in the exertion.
* post-event sports massage -- given within an hour or two of the event, to normalize the body's tissues.
* restorative sports massage -- given during training to allow the athelete to train harder and with less injury.
* rehabilitative sports massage -- aimed at alleviating pain due to injury and returning the body to health.
When Should I Get A Sports Massage At The Spa?
A sports massage is a good choice if you have a specific problem -- a tender knee from running, for instance. It is also be a good idea to see a movement therapist, who can help you identify and correct the movement pattern that might be causing your injury in the first place.
The therapist generally focuses in on the problem area -- a frozen shoulder or pulled hamstring, for instance -- rather than giving you a thorough full-body massage.
Sometimes men who are new to the spa are more comfortable getting a sports massage because it sounds more masculine. That's fine, even if they don't have an injury.
One area of problem down for me. Though, frankly i was like a wimp during the massage, cuz its the first time, i wasnt able to relax and its was pretty tensed up for me. I was as stiff as a robot. Literally screamming and biting through my teeth...
Though pain, after each tortutous parts, i felt better. Queried my friend, aint a massage suppose to be relaxeing?
Well, according to him, sports massage aims to tackle your problem areas and as for me, my problem areas are my legs.
My legs feel very much better and i need to see a doctor soon to get a referral for a specialist soon. My calf is having a blood clot again. Its the 2nd time of the year.
See a doctor and get it treated.
Hahaha.
This week, my milage of running is 0km... hahaha. i must get back to running and swimming tml....
haiz the weekend is almost over and time for me to rush over to my next appoint ment. A wopnder ful performance by the Singapore Men Choir at NAFA.
Reporting from Hans Cafe National Library
