American and Russian research (Siff MC & Yessis M 1992, Dubrovsky 1982 and others) has consistently shown that massage therapy when integrated with movement therapy is an effective tool in orthopedic, neuromuscular and sports restoration and rehabilitation by:
1. Increasing blood supply and speeding up venous flow.
2. Increasing lymphatic flow therefore helping the tissue to get rid of waste and toxins.
3. Increasing oxygen in arterial blood (Dubrovsky, 1982).
4. Helping to break adhesions and scar tissue, therefore improving muscle function by letting muscle fibers glide, contract and relax more efficiently.
In sports preparation, its main roles, as described by many Russian experts are:
1. Pre-starting neuromuscular relaxation.
2. Pre-starting neuromuscular stimulation.
3. Warming, loosening and mobilizing tissue.
4. Restoration during and after workouts or competitions.
Now, if you are a therapist and believe massage is time consuming think about this ... If you spend 20 minutes on electric stimulation plus 10 minutes on micro-current and 7 minutes on ultrasound, you have 37 MINUTES OF FLASHY PLACEBOS that at best would entertain the patient, but if you spend only 20 minutes on massage therapy, you would be far more successful in restoring and rehabilitating the neuromuscular system in almost half of the time.
References cited in this post and many further details of restorative procedures may be found in Siff MC & Yessis M book "Sport Restoration and Massage" 1992.
