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Understanding Sports Massage
Patricia J. Benjamin & Scott P. Lamp. Human Kinetics 2005. 156 pages paperback, illustrated. ISBN 0-7360-5457-X Massage is as old as civilised society. The ancient Greeks and the Romans practised it and its popularity today is partly grounded in a persistent belief in the wisdom of the ancients they founded our civilisation, so if it was good enough for them it's good enough for us. They also slaughtered religious dissidents in the arena but Massage has always had a role in athletic sports, especially in Europe and Asia, though it apparently fell out of fashion in 1950s America and only came back after 1972 when Lasse Viren won the 5000 and 10,000 metres. I learned this from one of the dozen boxed snippets of history presented throughout the book. Massage, it's claimed, is particularly effective in freeing up tight joints, reducing muscle adhesions, and facilitating the removal of waste products. So what happens to the poor so-and-sos who don't get massage, then? Do their joints lock into immobility and their muscles clog up with all kinds of chemical filth? Or does the body have its own mechanisms for lubricating joints and eliminating waste products? And if it does, why am I paying £25 for this massage? Repeated studies have shown that in removing lactic acid, massage is exactly as effective as 20 minutes warming-down, and little better than just lying down. There's always a danger that believers, enthusiasts, and people who earn their living at it will present anything as a panacea, and once they get started the list of benefits can get quite extensive. So does massage confer real benefits, physiological or other? Well, there's no doubt that while it's being done, massage makes you feel good, elevates mood, reduces feelings of stress, really does help you to relax. This is probably a powerful placebo effect, brought about by the warm, comfortable feeling that comes from lying down while somebody rubs you with sweet-smelling oil and is obviously taking great care of you. Who wouldn't feel good? No wonder stage race riders compete to be first on the massage table. There are other benefits. In sports teams the masseur, as confidant of both riders and manager, often has an important social role. The authors rightly address the whole-athlete model (physical, mental, social, emotional) which is a foundation stone of coaching practice: The interplay of mind and body cannot be ignored without severely limiting our understanding of human performance.' A psychological benefit is not illusory it is a real benefit. Masseurs will, of course, insist on the physiological gains, but most research, which tends to the mechanistic, finds them negligible. As a how-to-do-it book this couldn't be bettered. Every method is described in detail, with excellent photographs, and the structuring of programmes is presented from every point of view environment, timing, provision of equipment, and anything else you might need to know. With a few guinea-pigs and the book you too could learn to do it. There's a glossary, an adequate index, and several USA-specific pages on licensing laws. Excellent value for money.Ramin Minovi
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