06 Jul Massage: Where does it fall in the recovery process?

There are many cultural themes that carry between different sports physical therapy settings, especially at the higher levels of competition, but one that has always stuck out to me is the concept of massage. It doesn't matter if you're an elite athlete, a weekend warrior, a high school track runner, an elderly fall risk patient or you've been referred to me for a one time visit from your orthopedist -- the question is painfully frequent regardless of patient demographics: "can I get a massage?" Selfishly, I'm excited to write this article to have on hand as an educational piece for many of my athletes -- rather than explain my thought process verbally time and time again. If you are one of my athletes, please know you've been sent to this article in an effort to further polish up your already deep knowledge of how to better take care of your body. But more likely than not, you aren't an athlete under my care -- and in that case, I hope to temper your expectations and beliefs behind this passive intervention. Read on to learn more about massage and recovery.