• Question: With Sports Physiotherapy, how to the massages, stretches etc. help the patients with their muscle injuries?

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Daren Fearon

      Daren Fearon answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      It can help by increasing the blood flow to the effected area. The blood contains various things in it that can help sort out injuries.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      I was a member of the Massage Society last year at university and we ran a course in sports massage. One week an odd number of people turned up and because I was supervising the session, I had to have my legs massaged. I’ve got really ticklish legs so I spent all the time with my head buried in a pillow, trying not to kick the poor girl who was trying to learn!

      You probably know that when you do exercise, your body produces lactic acid, which can give you cramp? Massages and stretches help to break down the lactic acid in a few ways. The most important thing in a massage is to make sure the muscle is warmed up, this helps the lactic acid be processed quicker by your body. Stretches will also warm up the muscles so do this too. The actual massage helps break the lumps of lactic acid into smaller bits so that your body processes them faster. Also, as Daren said, you increase blood flow to the muscle to help it repair quicker!

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