UpClose & Personal - Mike McGillicuddy

I What gives a Sports Massage Therapist great confidence is knowing that he or she can provide appropriate treatments in any given environment. One of the most rewarding and challenging places to provide effective sports massage treatments is in a university athletic training room.

Having a system for working with other athletic training room professionals is extremely important. Since massage therapists are not licensed to diagnose or prescribe, we must rely on athletic trainers or doctors to screen athletes before treatments are administered. It is extremely important to learn what other training room professionals’ scope of practice involves and how to work in cooperation.

When athletes come into the training room for massage, a sign-in sheet should always be provided. The sign-in sheet contains a place for the athlete's name, what sport they play and a space for the sports massage therapist to initial. This provides the order in which the massages are done and records which therapist provided the massage to the athlete.

Along with the sign-in sheet, the athletes are required to fill out a body chart. The body chart contains a front, back and side view of the body. The athlete marks the chart to indicate where on the body they would like to receive a massage therapy treatment. Athletes are told prior to the massage that treatments are administered in fifteen-minute sessions. How the athlete marks the body chart allows the sports massage therapist to determine what type of treatment is appropriate.

For example, if an athlete scribbles on the entire back area of a chart, a nonspecific massage treatment could be administered to just the back. If small spots are marked on the chart, a more in-depth pre-massage interview for a more specific treatment maybe required. In any treatment on an athlete in which unusual signs or symptoms are observed, the athlete should always be referred back to a trainer.

When you work in a training room, you have access to athletes in every type of sport the university sponsors. Since every sport requires the athlete to train differently, a sports massage therapist must become familiar with most sports training requirements. You never know what type of sports massage—pre-event, post-event, maintenance, pre surgical, post surgical or rehab—will be applicable and on which part of the body an athlete will need a massage treatment.

A sports massage therapist must have a keen since of anatomy since you must be familiar with all parts of the athlete's body that may require treatment. Also developing great palpation's skills, knowing the sequence of techniques and the physiological effects desired for each treatment is essential for effective results.

Many times in the training room the athletes may be in pain during the massage treatment. Most massage therapists do not treat people in pain in their basic massage training programs, so gaining this experience can be invaluable for their massage career. Reducing pain and increasing range of motion are often two of the primary goals of a sports massage therapist when working in a training room.

The great thing about working in the training room is you get to practice your massage therapy skills on young, highly-motivated individuals. You often get to observe how long it takes for certain injuries to heal and the physical, mental and emotional effect they have on the athlete. The power of touch is a great healer and, without the presence of massage therapists in the training room, the athletes miss out. You never really know how much impact a massage therapy treatment may have on an athlete and usually they are very appreciative.

One thing that massage therapists may not consider is the long-term effect of providing sports massage in a university setting. There are many attributes that are developed in athletes as a result of them playing sports at the college level.

Most sports require that the athletes learn to work together in a cooperative effort to reach team goals. This attribute carries over into their business careers when they return to their communities after graduation. Successful athletes/businessmen often become leaders in their communities. As a result of being exposed to massage in college, these leaders often speak highly of their experience. Having leaders in your community speak highly of your profession enhances the image of the profession in ways that the sports therapist providing the massage may never realize.

Providing massage therapy in the university athletic training room benefits the university, the massage therapist, the athlete, the community and the massage therapy profession. I encourage sports massage therapists who want to enhance their massage skills to seek out opportunities to provide such services.

I hope this information has been helpful to you. Take care and I hope you enjoy being a part of the Massage Therapy Profession.

SpiritMcg@aol.com