UpClose & Personal - Mike McGillicuddy

Even among sports massage therapists the term pre-event massage can be confusing. To some therapists pre-event sports massage can take place up to 48 hours before an event. I usually consider pre-event massage a massage that takes place at an event just prior to an athlete competing at a competition.

Since this massage takes place at the event site, a question that comes up often is do I do the pre-event massage before or after the athlete warms up? In order to answer the question a therapist needs to know what is the purpose of a warm-up. There are four important physiological effects of a warm-up. First the athlete's heart rate should increase. Second the athlete's respiratory rate should increase. Third the athlete's body temperature should increase. Fourth as the athlete goes through the motions required to compete it prepares the body's nervous system for strenuous activity.

When you understand the effects of a warm-up you can see that a pre-event massage done after the warm-up would defeat the purpose of the warm-up. You would not want the athlete's heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature to drop while the massage is taking place.

What are some other considerations that could be important to the application of pre-event massage? What type of event is the athlete preparing to compete in? Does the start of the event require lighting quick reaction? Events such as swimming and running require instantaneous reaction. Does the event require the athlete to remain loose before competition such as in boxing? A boxer who is tight at the beginning of a fight is much more likely to be knocked out. Does the athlete's sport allow the use of oils or lotions during the pre-event massage? Can you use oil on a wrestler? You must understand the demands of the competition and rules of the sport in order to administer the proper application of pre-event massage.

What is the intent of a pre-event massage? A pre-event massage should assist in warming up an athlete's body, increase blood supply to the muscles, prepare the neruo-pathways and assist joint mobility.

In order to provide an effective pre-event massage a therapist should ask what massage techniques have I learned will create the intent of the pre-event massage? Friction can be applied to help warm the body, compression can be applied to increase blood flow to the targeted muscles and range of motion can be applied to prepare neuro-pathways and assist joint mobility.

Every pre-event massage may require specific applications of specific techniques in order to assist the athlete in being comfortable before the competition.

A pre-event massage may be as simple as rubbing an ankle or stretching a hamstring. It does not have to be a routine and sometimes the greatest benefit of a pre-event massage is purely psychological. Many athletes get very nervous before competing so anything you can do to calm and reassure them is extremely important.

Remember that as a sports massage therapist you may be the last person to have contact with the athlete before they compete. What you say and what you do can have a very powerful effect on the athletes performance.

Good luck. I hope the information shared is helpful to you.

E-mail: SpiritMcG@aol.com