Snow sports work every part of the body, from your quads to your traps. While it’s normal to feel tight after a day on the slopes, any lingering soreness or pain can put a real damper on the remainder of your trip. Rather than power through your discomfort, consider getting a sports massage to stimulate blood flow, loosen muscles, improve tissue elasticity, and relieve pain.
What Is a Sports Massage?
While a Swedish massage is focused on gentle strokes and relaxation, a sports massage is focused on treating specific muscle groups and connective tissue that are strained from physical activity.
A sports massage has several benefits, including:
- Relieving tension and pain
- Accelerating recovery
- Preventing further injury
If you’re battling a strain or feeling the beginnings of an injury, sports massages can work wonders in aiding the healing process. However, not all sports massages are the same. An experienced masseur or masseuse will customize the treatment depending on your ailments and preferred snow sport.
Sports Massage for Skiing
Skiers can experience localized pain in their knees, quads, or calves. A sports massage can help stretch shortened muscles to help alleviate knee pain, release knots in your calves, and loosen seized-up quad muscles.
While the legs may be doing much of the work, skiers’ arms are also getting a workout from holding and maneuvering the poles. Concentrating on the arm muscles in a sports massage can result in a much-welcomed release.
Sports Massage for Snowboarding
Snowboarders put a very different strain on their body than skiers. Part of this has to do with how a snowboarder rotates their body to ride down a slope. This constant twisting motion can tighten the soft tissue, which isn’t used to being turned in that way. A sports massage can focus on any tender areas from this movement.
Wrists are also at high risk of injury for snowboarders. This is because snowboarders don’t have any poles to help with balance; so if they go down, much of the weight can land on their wrists. The high level of balancing can also impact a rider’s ankles, which are constantly making minor adjustments to stay upright. Sore wrists and ankles are both common target areas for a sports massage.
Sports Massage for Snowshoeing
Snowshoeing may be a slower pace than skiing and snowboarding, but it actually burns more calories per hour. Snowshoeing requires endurance, and that continued usage of muscles can lead to soreness in several parts of the body. The back, for instance, can become tight if a snowshoer slouches or has poor form on the snow.
Snowshoeing trails often include icy patches, and some snowshoers may slip. A fall can be particularly hard on the ankles, which are locked in place in the shoes. A sports massage can address the aches from a long snowshoeing trek or any sharp pain from a recent injury.
Sports Massage for Hiking
In Steamboat Springs, hikers are on the trails every week of the year. Especially in the winter months, hikers may find themselves leaping over ice or taking long strides to avoid muddy patches. By the end of the hike, a hiker may feel a tightness in their hips or hamstrings from these unnatural movements. A sports massage can release restrictions in fascia to return your stride to its normal gait.
Book a Deep Tissue Massage at Euphoria Day Spa
At Euphoria Day Spa, we offer custom body treatments and deep tissue massages for athletes and active outdoorsmen and women. Each massage is tailored to your specific needs, targeting specific pressure points related to your sport or activity. Through a combination of slow strokes and focused massage, you’ll walk away feeling looser and ready for action. Contact us today to release your tension with a personalized massage.
