Rachel is a massage therapist at The Wellness Center, who is also a licensed athletic trainer. In addition to The Wellness Center, she works with the athletic department at a local high school. We were talking with her about massage for pre-teens and teens as we have been seeing more young athletes coming in for massage. We believe education and proper conditioning is imperative to helping these children reach their desired performance levels and maintain their health at the same time.
There is more and more pressure these days for young athletes to stay competitive. Many will specialize in one sport for the entire year and there is repetitive stress put on the same muscles over and over. Many of these young athletes are finding that massage therapy can really help them with muscle stiffness and soreness. It also helps manage their stress levels.
Recently, an NPR report came out about this topic. Dr. Jayanthi studied more than 1,200 young athletes, and found that lower back injuries were the third most common injury in athletes younger than 18, after knees and ankles. He presented the data last year at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference read more click here.
Jayanthi made a few suggestions that parents can do to help reduce the risk of injury:
1) Diversify the types of sports they play throughout a given year
2) Don’t specialize in one sport before late adolescence
3) In addition to organized play, young athletes should also engage in unorganized play
There is more and more pressure these days for young athletes to stay competitive. And with many specializing in one sport for the entire year, there is repetitive stress put on the same muscles over and over. Many of these young athletes are finding that massage therapy can really help them with muscle stiffness and soreness. It also helps manage their stress levels. (Yes, sadly our children also experience stress and the negative effects of it on the body.)
When considering getting your young athlete a massage, here are a few tips that should help make the experience comfortable and therapeutic:
1) Choose a therapist with the same gender as your child (a young boy may be apprehensive getting a massage from a female and vice versa)
2) Start with a shorter session time (30 or 45 minute massage session will be fine)
3) Have them dress in comfortable clothing that will allow them to do some active stretching during the session.
4) Consider being in the room during the massage to alleviate any hesitation on your part or your child’s.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at 303-357-9355. Rachel is scheduled during the week and weekends to work with your rising star.
