Massage and Stretching

[All Hands]

For those of you who do sports massage do you include any stretching? Is this part of the ciriculumn? I had a client ask me to help them stretch and since this was not my area of expertise I felt a little uneasy doing so.

Thanks.

[bluebelle945]

Most of my clients come to me because of a certain injury or problem they have. I always suggest a few stretches after the massage on the particular area that they have the problem with to help the muscles from contracting back. I would look for a book you can use for a referece tool on sports massage (Amazon has many to choose from). Stretching is very important on a daily basis for anyone. Hope this helps.

[rajas_squirrel]

Just be careful when recommending stretches to clients. Could potentially bite you in the butt because if someone does it incorrectly.

If you are looking to assist the client in stretching, try learning about PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) and other muscular energy techniques. A good book to get you started is Mosby's Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage by Sandy Fritz. Might want to go for additional classes to learn some of the techniques too.

[MelissaSue]

There are lots and lot of books out there that have WONDERFUL stretches (both with pictures and descriptions) that you can perform on your clients while they are on your table. The best thing about assisted ROM is that you make sure that your client is doing the stretch the correct way, and then you KNOW that when they do it on their own at home, the risk of injury is greatly reduced. Remember that the point of streching is NOT to "feel the burn", but to provide a good healthy workout to the target muscle, always trying to stay within your client's barrier end-zone. As for "Mosby's Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage" by Sandy Fritz, that is the book that we used in massage school, and I am not real happy with it myself. It does have lots and lots of wonderful information in it, but the layout of the book has you all over the place if you try to cross-reference anything. I wouldn't recomend it myself.

[bluebelle945]

We used the same Mosbey's book when I went to school. I haven't used that since I graduated almost 2 years. A great reference book that I have found is "Instant Pain Relief" by Peggy Brill, a physical therapist. The whole book is stretches for particular problems in specific areas of the body. I have used this to help the people I have worked on for the past year. It includes pictures and step by step instructions on how to perform each stretch.

[stillpoint]

Learn stretching from Aaron Mattes, Active Isolated Stretching

www.stretchingusa.com

and from James Waslaski OrthoMassage

www.orthomassage.net

Your work is more effective and longer lasting when you include
stretching and the client, too, follows a home stretching program.

[SDBliss]

EOM

[IntuitiveTouch]

I incorporate PJM/Thai/Yogasagge moves in just about every session where it fits, not just in "Sports Massage".

[Mimi]

Originally posted by All Hands
For those of you who do sports massage do you include any stretching? Is this part of the ciriculumn? I had a client ask me to help them stretch and since this was not my area of expertise I felt a little uneasy doing so.

Thanks.
I do cross-friction, stretching and ROM. Sometimes though, if the person came to me because they've overstretched, needless to say, I avoid stretching them in that area. I always try and help the compensating side though if they have a sports injury.