There is no practical difference between injuries that occur in a sports setting or elsewhere. For instance, a common injury such as an inversion sprain or "twisted ankle" could be done playing on a football field or while walking to your car in the supermarket parking lot. Both the anatomy and treatment of the injury are the same. You can also get the best Physical therapy services in Frederick, MD.

Image Source: Google

Of course, sports provide an environment with higher amounts of physical stress than normal daily activity and so injuries, especially certain kinds of injuries, occur more commonly in athletics than elsewhere.

There are also what can be termed "sports specific" injuries, or injuries that happen especially frequently in particular sports, such as inversion sprains in soccer, shin splints and knee injuries in track and field, and tennis and golfer's elbow in – you guessed it – tennis and golf.

So how is massage used in the treatment of these injuries and what benefit does massage give to the patient who has been injured either on or off the field?

First of all, it should be stressed that when you suffer physical trauma, the first point of consultation is your doctor. This does not mean that you should run to your doctor's office due to very minor injuries, scrapes, or muscle twinges, but any serious or painful injury should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor first and foremost.

Massage and sports therapy professionals are trained in anatomy and should be familiar with most sports injuries, but they are not qualified for the professional medical diagnosis of serious injuries.

Furthermore, massage is not recommended during the acute stage of an injury. The acute stage is generally within 72 hours after the injury has occurred. After inflammation, swelling and pain have diminished, massage can be considered as an appropriate and very beneficial treatment.

The benefits of massage for someone who has suffered a sports injury are many. First, massage therapy approaches the body holistically, promoting relaxation, good circulation of the blood and lymphatic system, pain relief, and general wellbeing.

In this way, massage aids in the body's natural healing processes and eases the suffering of the patient. More specifically, therapeutic massage can be used in a variety of ways to treat the many injuries that can occur in an athletic session, whether they are muscular, structural, or otherwise.

The qualified massage therapist's awareness of the body's anatomy and physiology, and his or her understanding of the nature of the particular injury are important tools for the proper treatment of athletic injuries with sports massage and other sports therapy techniques.

For instance, a therapist may choose to combine massage with cryotherapy stretching, or taping in order to find the best combination of treatments for the injured individual.

Sports massage can help reduce swelling around an injury, shorten the time it takes to recover, and increase range of motion so that a repeat injury is less likely.

Massage can also help to maintain good muscle tone, soften scar tissue and make it more elastic. Sports massage is recommended for all athletes, injured or healthy, who wish to keep their bodies in top shape and maintain an active, pain-free athletic lifestyle.