Massage Therapy
At Zenith Sport & Performance our Sports Massage Therapists strive to help you reach your athletic performance potential by assessing, treating and preventing possible injuries related to muscles, ligament, nerves and joints. We help restore physical function with a variety of techniques such as soft tissue manipulation, joint mobilization, muscle energy and exercise prescription.
Deep Tissue Massage
Deep Tissue Masage is an advanced form of massage that can really benefit chronic pain sufferers. Deep Tissue Massage is used to release chronic muscular tension using slow strokes, direct compression, trigger point techniques or friction on a focused problem area. Often the movements are directed across the grain of the muscles (cross-fibre) using the fingers, thumbs, or elbows. This is applied with greater pressure and at deeper layers of the muscle than Swedish massage, hence the name Deep Tissue Massage.
This technique is often used for athletes. However, it is not just sports people who can reap the benefits of this advanced massage style. If you work in an office, sitting at a desk day after day, or if your work or lifestyle involves you doing many repetitive movements (causing RSI or repetitive strain injuries), then you may also suffer deep tissue injuries.
Sports Massage
Sports Massage is a special form of massage and is typically used before, during, and after athletic events.
The purpose of the massage is to prepare the athlete for peak performance, to drain away fatigue, to relieve swelling, to reduce muscle tension, to promote flexibility and to prevent injuries.
Sports massage maintains the body in generally better condition.
Muscle Energy Technique
Muscle energy techniques are applied to a patient in order to lengthen shortened or spastic muscles, to improve weakened ligament and muscle strength, and to improve range of motion.
This procedure is performed when a client is asked to contract a muscle for approximately 5-seconds against an anti-force applied by the practitioner. The muscle contraction is performed by the client 2 or 3 times in a row in the hopes to stretch the muscle further each time.
Muscle energy techniques can be applied safely to almost any joint in the body. Many athletes use MET as a preventative measure to guard against future muscle and joint injury.
Myofascial Release
Myofascial Release is a type of soft tissue massage which incorporates stretching and massage of the connective tissues, or fascia.
Myofascial release usually begins with a gentle massage which is designed to warm and loosen muscles. As the work progresses the bodywork practitioner identifies areas of tension which require further attention, and will return to those areas to stretch and work the fascia. Sometimes myofascial release can be quite intense, especially in the case of muscles which are holding a great deal of tension and stress. After the session, some clients experience slight stiffness and soreness, which will usually vanish over the next few days, leaving behind a sense of well-being.
Regular myofascial release can improve posture, ease areas of muscle soreness, and improve flexibility.