An Athletes Best Friend

An Athletes Best Friend!

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… More about Sports Massage

Figure 1:

Let’s Get It Started, Sports Style! Figure 2: Have you ever wondered what it is like to have your own personal massage therapist?! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a travelling massage therapist for athletes?! Well you are reading the right newsletter! Continue for more fabulous information!

In order to be a sports massage therapist you have to go through several years of school including preand post-event sports-massage training. You will learn the basics of sports massage such as “learning how to prepare athletes for a sporting event by using short, quick and invigorating strokes to stimulate their muscles and how to use positive imagery, suggestions and reinforcements to ensure the athletes are psychologically prepared as well”. (Pete Pfannerstill, 2008) When an Page 1

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Inside scoop from an athlete

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Traveling with a massage therapist

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How to connect with a sports team

“He who has

health has hope, and he who has hope has everything”. (Arabian Proverb) Figure 3:

If You Think Sports Massage is Easy, Think Again! by: Jillian Pasher

practice for as long as you would of liked. “If an athlete is having a particular problem or if an injury exists, the therapist will work the specific area for the entire session to help What normaize you the willdamaged learn.. tissue”. (Pete Pfannerstill, 2008) The therapist might offer routine • soGetting started exercises that the athlete will with sports keep up to shape. massage

athlete is finished their sport or track event, “you also learn how to treat by using longer, slower, more sedating strokes to flush out metabolic wastes from the muscle tissue and begin the repair –andrestoration process”. (Pete Pfannerstill, 2008) (see more on page 2)

Conquering the World: Life on the Road with the A.I.S

When dealing with world triathlon championship in Switzerland, the roles Being a massage practitioner on the road like Brad Hiskins is very tough. of the jobs of a medical team increase He works for the Australian Institute of Sport. Even though this job sounds and looks glorious and glamorous, the schedules and workload that these in workload which includes working orderless to be able work on and with more chronic type problems. practitioners take on is enormous which In leaves time fortofree time When he was in Switzerland, the athletes and to understand rest, and more time for work and traveling. (Massage Australia, 1999) At mornings consisted of stretching how what muscles the end of the day, the work output is very rewarding and istoa work greaton, “a sports-massage accomplishment as it creates a great impact on the sportingtherapist teams. Brad sessions, training massages and soft tissue work. (Massage Australia) All of worksOlympic on only those Hiskins toured South America with Australia’s Soccermuscles team, the it assured the athletes range of an athlete uses for his or her ‘Ollyroos’. motion to swim, and aerodynamic sport and the movements positions on their bicycles in the involved in the sports they triathlons. (Massage Australia, 1999) work with”. (Pete Pfannerstill, At the end of the day, this job to Brad 2008) Sports massage Hiskins is awesome. It is very hard therapists sepcialize in areas of work, long days and early mornings. It the body such as stretching, is all worth it though. The feeling is neuromuscular therapy and Figure 6: myofascial therapy. You also very rewarding and seeing an athlete be fit yourselfAustralia, in order to The team is full of many talented must players. (Massage bring home their glory feels just as help athletes stay You have 1999) Even though they are that talented, they still had to fit. work hard and good to the massage practitioner says to “practice what you preach”. push for the Olympic gold medal. Brad Hiskins explains that most of his Brad Hiskins. (Massage Australia, If you don’t haveTheir proper work includes acute type injuries and first aid treatment. sports 1999) ) An average day that Brad your there handsare as well as trainer skill are in high demands becausetraining, with soccer, many Hiskins described consisted of at least (Francois De La Rochefoucauld) other your body blisters, abrasions, cuts, and scrapes that needparts to beoflooked afterwill and two 2-hour training sessions. maintained. (Massage Australia, 1999) start An average dayup that Brad Hiskins (Massage Australia, 1999)This to tense and you described consisted of at least two 2-hour training included stretching and strapping won’t be sessions. able to (Massage do your Australia, 1999) This included stretching and strapping treatments. treatments. All of the medical team, Their sports trainer skill are in high demands because with soccer, there including massage practitioners, Figure 5: are many blisters, abrasions, cuts, and scrapes that need to be looked physiotherapists, and doctors work after and maintained. (Massage Australia, 1999 together to create and achieve the by Anastasia Clarry best fitness programs for the athletes. by Alana Fettes

“Wisdom is to the mind what health is to the body”.

An Athlete’s Savor: A Sports Massage Therapist

Being an athlete in the world today is very stressful on the body. Without the proper care of tissues and muscles injury can occur, which can be detrimental to a career. Colin Russell a competitive swimmer for most of his life recently had the opportunity to go to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Ever since he was a little boy he had dreamed to go the Olympics one day. With all the Colin told me that the massages he received by the intense training that took place in Colin’s career he therapists were very helpful and allowed for him to often found himself sore and tired after long recover between his races. workouts. When travelling to Beijing in the summer he was able to experience the care of the massage After the swimming portion of the Olympics was therapists that travelled with the team. complete, Colin was able to use the massage The Canadian Olympic Team consisted of therapists for the duration of his stay in Beijing. “I two travelling massage therapists, both of which continued to use the massage therapists after were available any time of day for treatments. swimming was complete because I was still sore from Colin utilized the massage therapists before his racing, and injured and I was still part of the team but race, to loosen his muscles, in between his races to priority was for those that still were competing” Colin flush out his muscles in order to prepare for his said. Being a travelling massage therapist for a sports next swim, as well as after his race. As a team is a very demanding job. Therapists need to be competitive swimmer Colin has had to overcome able to know their clients and their client’s bodies in many injuries. In 2007 Colin underwent surgery to order to treat them and make them feel better for their his shoulder. With the help of the massage events. Being a massage therapist for the Canadian therapists hired to work with the athletes in Beijing Olympic Team is a big responsibility, but with the Colin was able to have treatment done on his success of an athlete comes the satisfaction of infraspinatus, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, knowing that your knowledge and your hands helped subscapularis and trapezius muscles. prepare them for triumph. Page 2

How to Connect with a Sports Team

Step 4: be prepared to hear from the trainer if they do have time to talk to you, and can speak with you now. Ask them if they have anyone working for Joana Brown, a massage therapist for the Lowell Lock Monsters of by Josh Hensen the AHL (NHL minor leagues) has several suggestions for anyone them at this time. who is aspiring to become a massage therapist with a professional Step 5: if the answer is no, ask to make an sports organization. Joana emphasizes one very important thing to appointment to meet with them personally to go people wishing to make this their goal. She stresses that you must over how you may benefit the team. If they already have a therapist, find out their specialty. You may set your goals strategically. In order to do this she gives the have a style that differs from the other therapist, following keys to help: which you can use in conjunction with the other • Put it to paper. What organization(s) are you interested in therapist. Step 6: ask the trainer if you could at all possible contacting? give the employed massage therapist a call. • Prioritize. Put your goals in numerical order. Sometimes, a therapist may be looking to hire more • Break it down. Make each goal into smaller pieces to do therapists and you calling them and introducing first. yourself shows good ethical respect. • Set deadlines. Give yourself a time frame, even if you have Step 7: once a meeting is scheduled, you must set to readjust later. out a detailed list of the topics or questions you • Begin. Take action; you must do something every day. wish to cover. Bibliography: Step 8: have a business contract in mind to Also, Brown has the following 10-step blueprint to help guide you inpresent. You may want to look at the company’s Figure 1: http://www.dorsetsportsmassage.co.uk/images/massage-therapist.jpg marketing plan, and ask for advertisement the right direction: Figure 2: http://www.amtamassage.org/journal/win02/profsports_connect.html compensation. Step Figure 1: first you must contact the athletic trainer of the team you Step 9: begin to present your proposal. You want to 3: www.massagemag.com, Jonah Sutherland are interested in. They are the ones who make the final decision onalso be gathering information about the company Figure 4: www.ctv.ca/servlet/articlenews/story/CTVnews/20080812/BEIJING_relay_080812 as you go along, and what is important to the hiring a massage therapist. Figure 5: www.cbc.ca/gfx/image/sports/photos/2008/06/16/392russell_colin080402cp.jpg Step 2: introduce yourself to the trainer, and ask if they have a athletic trainer. Figurefor 6: you http://www.performancemax.com.au/images/existing_elements/brad_hiskins.jpg Step 10: locking in the contract. Once you and the few minutes to speak to them Step 3: have a clear but short explanation of why you are calling trainer have decided on the final details, let them know you will be submitting in writing what was them. By being clear, you are letting the trainer know that you talked about. If you prefer to have a signed understand how valuable their time is. contract, that is also acceptable. Page 3

Futral, K. (2002). How to Connect with a Sports Team. How to get involved in Professional Sports. Conquering the world: life on the road with A.I.S. (1999). Massage Australia, 26 (27). Pete Pfannerstill, P. (2008). Get Started in Sports Massage . How to Target Athletes as a Specialized Clientele , 50-55.

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