The World of Sports and Exercise Massage

Chapter 1


The World of Sports and Exercise Massage




Objectives


After completing this chapter, the student will be able to perform the following:


1 Identify personal motivation for wanting to work with this population.


2 List previous knowledge and experience needed to apply the information in the textbook.


3 Identify teachers, mentors, and resources for self-study in this career area.


4 Use this textbook for self- and classroom study.


5 Explain realistic career expectations.


6 List the complexities of working with this population.


7 Explain and list challenges and rewards for working with this population.



Key Terms









Determining Career Motivation



Objective




This text is written with many objectives. It should provide information to answer some of the questions listed in Box 1-1, at least those about exercise, athletes, and what it takes to work with this group of clients. However, it cannot explain why you want to work in this realm. No textbook or teacher can answer that question for you. I am still figuring it out for myself. Many years of working with hundreds of athletes (for real), as well as with thousands of “ordinary” people, have blessed me with accumulated therapeutic massage experience, most of which has been learned independently of formal classroom training. One of the main purposes of this text is to consolidate this experience so that it won’t take others over 30 years to become proficient at this type of massage application.



Box 1-1   Determining Motivation




These interesting questions are relevant for any massage therapist wishing to specialize and target his or her career toward a specific population. Substitute chronic illness, hospice, prenatal and postnatal, elderly, infants, and so on, and the questions would be the same. It is important to identify the motivation for any course of study, especially at an advanced level.


This text targets the sports/fitness/physical rehabilitation client. These clients range from individuals involved in physical rehabilitation requiring exercise programs, including cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory rehabilitation, and physical therapy for orthopedic injury; persons incorporating exercise as part of a comprehensive fitness and wellness program, including weight management; and recreational and competitive athletes, both amateur and professional. Return to the questions in Box 1-1 and really look at them. What is your motivation for wanting to learn how to use therapeutic massage to serve this population?


The sports, fitness, and rehabilitation communities are using massage at an increased rate; however, many misconceptions, much inaccurate information, and even dangerous methods such as extreme stretching and invasive inflammatory “deep tissue” massage are being taught and practiced as sports massage. Complaints from those who have received ineffective massage that was not worth the time and money are common. This is unacceptable. Members of the profession have the responsibility to provide safe and effective massage care for all populations.



What You Need to Know



Objective




Since the first edition of this book was published in 2005, advances have been made in our understanding of the effects of massage, the importance of exercise, and the physical and physiologic demands on athletes. Research has exposed many myths about massage and components of sports training. These myths will be discussed and more current and accurate information presented. As a massage therapist, especially when working with clients who place excessive demands on their bodies, it is absolutely essential that lifelong learning is a priority, as is remaining current with research evidence.


It is assumed that the reader is proficient in the following areas of knowledge:



In the first edition of this textbook, review content for these areas was included because it was difficult to determine the baseline education of the reader. Now, as massage therapy entry level education has begun to be standardized and more resource material is available for your review, this content has been reduced but does appear on the Evolve website that accompanies this book. You should already know about anatomy and physiology, sanitation, draping, massage manipulations, and techniques such as body mechanics, assessment, charting, and treatment plan development, as well as ethics and professionalism. These foundational skills and knowledge are even more important when specializing in a target population.


This information should have been presented in your initial massage therapy education. However, we all need ongoing review and updates. It is strongly suggested that you obtain the most current edition of the following books and online courses, which provide the foundation necessary to learn the material in this book:



These two textbooks and the online course will provide you with the most current information about massage therapy and an excellent review of all the necessary sciences. The online course that accompanies the Essential Sciences text is interactive, comprehensive, and fun.


For further study on bones, joints, and muscles and how they function together, take advantage of Joe Muscolino’s texts:



This textbook is an excellent resource:



The following two books are comprehensive and will provide the opportunity to expand on the information in this textbook:



For updated information on the importance of fascia, read the following:




Teachers and Mentors



Objective




This textbook is designed to be a teacher, and I hope that it can be somewhat like a mentor. A teacher presents new information and skills and refines and targets previous learning. A mentor has professional experience, has achieved individual excellence, and wants to help others achieve their own success.


It is important for you to confirm that your teachers and mentors provide you with information and skills for you to excel, and that they are qualified to teach you. I have been a massage therapist for over 30 years and a school owner and educator for over 25 years, teaching more than 4000 students. I have written many textbooks and have created an online science course. My experience with professional athletes is extensive, including an educational partnership with the Detroit Lions organization for 14 years, as well as with individual players from multiple NFL teams, NBA players. and PGA golfers. I have worked with famous athletes and amateurs. I still work with professional athletes, and some of them have been my clients for over 15 years (Box 1-2).



Box 1-2   Stories from the Field


The stories I have chosen to tell are about those with whom I have spent the most time and therefore know the best. The stories are written from my point of view and with their permission.


I first met Charlie at the start of the educational programs with the Detroit Lions that began in 1998/99. He had been drafted that previous year, and through various circumstances, he had been the starting quarterback as a rookie. I soon learned that rookies are just kids, and being the quarterback on an NFL team put this kid in the spotlight. During his rookie year, he had performed extremely well. He had the opportunity to play with Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders and is the first to acknowledge that part of his rookie success can be attributed to having Barry on the team. I met Charlie the next year, when the team was in transition, because this was the year that Barry Sanders retired. Especially with team sports, a change like this is especially difficult for a young player.


The first time I worked with Charlie, he had a kink in his neck. I had no idea who he was, and I was swamped with a bunch of other players with aches and pains. I do remember thinking how young he looked as I applied compression to the scalenes. This was the beginning of a long, involved professional relationship that has spanned many years.


Various circumstances over the years resulted in Charlie playing with a series of painful injuries, and massage was an ongoing part of how he continued to play. At the same time, the team was undergoing many organizational changes. Stress levels were high for everyone, which added to the typical strain of the ongoing football seasons. Accumulated injuries affected his ability to perform at his peak. In 2002, he undertook a major commitment to rehabilitation and spent months at the IMG training facility in Bradenton, Florida. I have experienced only a few persons in my long massage career who worked so hard to rebuild their bodies. In 2002, Charlie left the Detroit Lions and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was in the best physical condition I had ever seen him, and he had matured from a kid to a man. For a major part of his career in Detroit, he had been the starting quarterback. In Pittsburgh, his initial role on the team was third quarterback. He had to adjust professionally and personally to the status change, knowing that he was in the best playing shape of his life but likely would not see playing time, and in fact was last in line. He made the adjustment from top dog to background support with grace and maturity.


An old knee injury, likely from when he was in high school or college, resulted in a loose body in his knee, and arthroscopic surgery was performed less than 3 weeks before the beginning of training camp with his new team. After excellent medical care and 24-hour-a-day massage care, he reported to camp and never missed a practice. That was a long and intense 2 weeks. I performed lymph drainage on his knee and managed compensation hour after hour. He participated and at times endured (with only a bit of grumping) scar tissue management, ice application, and range-of-motion methods. Many funny stories resulted from that intense 2-week period because circumstances were just not typical. We got tired of each other but persisted anyway.


Massage was provided on the massage table but also on the floor, on the sofa, at the computer, and so on. The effort put forth by both of us was incredible.


I wonder what motivates or drives these athletes, so in brief here is the rest of his story.


Charlie grew up with a committed single mom in a tough neighborhood. Charlie excelled in sports and was awarded a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University. He survived a life-threatening illness from toxic chemical exposure at a summer job and managed to return to football, breaking almost every quarterback record at the school. Even more devastating was the tragedy that hit his family next.


In 1996, when Charlie’s sister, whom he adored, was walking along his hometown sidewalk with a friend, a gunshot intended for her companion struck her in the head and killed her. She was 17 years old. The shooter never has been brought to justice.


Charlie had left the neighborhood he grew up in for college, before the neighborhood was torn apart by guns, drugs, and a feeling of hopelessness.


When his sister was killed, Charlie told his mother that he was leaving college to come home and provide for the family, but she would not permit it, reminding him that his sister was so proud that he had made it to college and never thought he was a quitter. So he found another way not only to support his family but also the community that he loves. Grief for his sister motivated him to wonder how he could make things better.


Charlie started the Best of the Batch Foundation, which targets low-income families and youth in the Homestead area, where idle hands often can get in trouble. The Foundation has started after-school programs that promote literacy by conducting registration for library cards. But that is only a small part of it. The Foundation also provides scholarships, restores playgrounds, takes kids to the movies, and conducts a popular summer basketball league for boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 18. The league is run through an arm of the Foundation called Project C.H.U.C.K. (Constantly Helping Uplift Community Kids).


I know Charlie shows up at the playground almost every night to talk to the kids or just shoot baskets with them. He also mentors students in one-on-one sessions at Steel Valley High School, reads to them at the library, and simply hangs out with them at the park. I have seen him go from kid to kid asking for a report on grades and conduct. He is tough. If they do not follow the rules, they have to answer to him, but because he is there, the kids know he cares.


I was there when he took 50 elementary students to the circus, and again when he took 50 more students to the movies. The kids who went had made the grades and attendance requirements at school.


By nature, Charlie is quiet and is not one to talk much, including about himself, but he did say during an interview, “If you can save one person, that changes somebody’s life. If you can make an impact on somebody’s life forever, that’s something I want to do.”


As of this writing, Charlie is still playing for the Steelers and wants to play football a few more years and is beginning to plan for the next stage of his life—not being a football player. He has role models to whom he looks for guidance, just as he is a role model to the kids with whom he interacts. Because of an unusual set of circumstances, he ended up starting games during the 2010 and 2011 football seasons and, as heard from other players, “the old man has still got it.” How did my kid quarterback become the grizzled old veteran? 15+ years in the league, that’s how. And massage helped him do that!

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Jun 22, 2016 | Posted by in MANUAL THERAPIST | Comments Off on The World of Sports and Exercise Massage

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