Sports Massage Therapy

My name is Tamsin and I am a massage and sports massage therapist, also known as a soft tissue therapist, based in and around the Bristol, Bath and North Somerset area. I have been practicing privately since 2005 with access to various treatment rooms and I also provide home visits. Since August 2009 I have also been working at Team Bath Sports Injury clinic and EIS (English Institute of Sport). I deal with a wide range of clients from people who spend too much time at a computer to Olympic gold medal athletes.

I am fully qualified and insured, and am a level 4 SMA (Sports Massage Association) member. I am committed to providing the best treatment for my clients and therefore am constantly attending CPD (Continued Professional Development) training, which keeps me up to date with the most recent sports massage and soft tissue therapies, such as trigger point release, myofascial release and soft tissue release. This along with my experience of sports and deep tissue massage over the years means I am able to tailor make each massage and treatment plan to fit each person’s individual needs regardless whether it’s sports related, work related or due to poor posture.

There are many benefits to be gained from having sports massage or soft tissue therapy. If you are a professional or amateur athlete it can help you through your training, help prevent injury or aid in the rehabilitation of an injury. It can be used to help with your pre event preparations or as part of your post event plan.

Some benefits of massage include, increased muscle length, helping restore the muscle back to its normal length, enabling the muscle to function more effectively leading to less injuries. Massage can also help to remove metabolic waste, including used cells the body no longer needs, or waste that is created when energy is produced and at the same time increase the blood flow to the muscle which brings fresh oxygen and nutrients to it. Cell permeability is improved so that the muscles are able to take full advantage of the nutrient and oxygen supply and depending on what you are looking to acheive, nerve endings can either be stimulated to make you more alert or sedated so that your muscle is able to relax.

There is a misconception that sports massage is for athletes only, this is not the case. Everyone can benefit from sports massage, this is why it is often referred to as soft tissue therapy.

If you are in an office based job and suffering from RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), a builder suffering from back pain or general muscle stiffness or a triathlete training for an ironman competition with Iliotibial band issues, sports massage can help.

When your problems stem from tight, hypertonic or overworked soft tissue then massage is for you, whatever your work or chosen sport.

There are numerous basic techniques that can be used during sports massage, such as effleurage, tapotement, petrissage and dermal lifting. Then there are more advanced techniques like specific stretch (soft tissue release), trigger pointing and myofascial release.

An appropriate selection of massage techniques are used depending on what you are trying to achieve, what is found during the massage and other factors such as pregnancy, age and medical conditions, to gain the most effective results as quickly as possible.