On Location Sports Massage

Advanced Alternatives is the premiere Massage Clinic in Tallahassee, Florida.
Providing both clinical and on-site sports massage to elite athletes and those serious about their fitness.

If you have an athletic injury, interested in improved performance or simply need recovery from strenuous training, Contact Us .

Sports Massage: a specialty area of massage therapy that addresses the specific requirements of individuals who are engaged in athletic activities. It is usually briefer in duration and more vigorous than full body massage, focusing on specific muscles relevant to athletic activities. Sports massage concentrates on reducing or eliminating factors that interfere with performance potential such as muscle spasms, tendonitis, fatigue and injury. Regular massage allows the body to function with less restriction and accelerates recovery time. Primarily, the use of sports massage is to enhance the performance potential of an individual. Sports massage serves to enhance athletic performance by addressing both physiological and psychological concerns such as soft tissue injury, restricted range of motion, pain, fatigue, and high anxiety.

Sports Massage Therapy Service Deliverables

Advanced Alternatives offers a full menu of sports massage service options to be provided to various sports programs primarily in three (3) ways:

• Delivered in-office or on location to meet your needs.
• Structured differently for off-season and in-season sports massage program.
• Customized to athlete-specific needs.

On Location Services

Pre-event massage protocol (10-15 min) 
This could involve everything from fast, vigorous massage strokes to stimulate blood flow, increase muscle oxygen levels, warm and soften soft tissues around joints to various forms of stretching techniques. The goal is to warm and stimulate the athlete’s muscles, tendons and fascial layers allowing them to immediately expand large amounts of energy. Warming the tissues up prior to physical exertion also minimizes the possibilities of trauma and injury.

Post-event massage (15-20 min)
Massage techniques done after an event are softer, gentler strokes designed to flush pyruvic acid, lactic acid and other metabolic wastes from the muscle tissue. This form of massage will relax and soothe the athlete. These techniques minimize the pain and soreness experienced after periods of intense physical exertion and allows the athlete to recover faster from such activities. The increased blood flow to the muscular tissue permits faster regeneration and healing if any trauma or micro tears have occurred.

Inter-event
This mode of massage would utilize components from both pre and post event massage routines. The objective of this type of protocol is to flush any metabolic wastes that have formed in the muscle tissues, while also keeping the athlete stimulated and invigorated.

Office Services

Maintenance and Remediation
Injury-Specific Protocols – Massage would be utilized to address specific issues such as: restricted range of motion, chronic pain, and muscle/tendon injuries. These protocols would be designed to address the athlete’s individual complaints and reduce the athlete’s recovery time. The goal would be to get the athlete back to their peak performance level as quickly as possible.

Maintenance Massage
This type of massage session would be customized for the specific athlete. Any problem areas would be addressed. The increased blood flow to the muscle helps keep the tissue healthy, which in turn would reduce the occurrence of injuries. The purpose of these protocols would be to keep the athlete in the best physical condition possible between games or seasons. This service could also be provided on-site if that is deemed most efficient use of the athlete’s time.

There are some common tip-offs you should recognize as warning signs that you have an injury that needs your attention. While some sports injuries are immediately evident, others can creep up slowly and progressively get worse. If you don't pay attention to both types of injuries, chronic problems can develop.

Joint Pain
Joint pain, particularly in the joints of the knee, ankle, elbow and wrist, should never be ignored. Because these joints are not covered by muscle, there is rarely a muscular origin. Joint pain that lasts more than 48 hours requires a physician's diagnosis.

Swelling
Swelling is usually quite obvious, and can be seen, but occasionally you may feel swollen without outward signs. Almost all sports injuries cause swelling and should never be ignored. Often, swelling within a joint will cause pain, stiffness, or may produce a clicking sound as the tendons snap over one another because they have been pushed into a new position due to swelling.

Reduced Range Of Motion
If swelling isn't obvious, you can usually find it by checking for a reduced range of motion in a joint. If there is significant swelling within a joint, you will lose range of motion -- the limb will only go so far in each direction. Again, compare one side of the body with the other to identify major differences. If there are any, you have an injury that needs attention.

Comparative Weakness
Comparing one side to the other for weakness is often hard to do, but can be a good clue to identify significant injury. One way to tell is to lift the same weight with the right and left side and look at the result. Often therapists will test comparative weakness manually or with special equipment.

Numbness and Tingling
Never ignore numbness or tingling. Often related to nerve compression, these warning signs may indicate serious injury and should always be seen by a physician.

Immediate Treatment
If you recognize any of the above warning signs, the goal is to prevent further damage. Don't let the problem get any worse and don't let the swelling continue. Look for an obvious cause of the injury such as poorly fitting equipment or a missed step while sprinting. If you can locate the source of the injury, you can begin to remedy the situation. If you have any of the above warning signs, do not continue your activity. Begin treatment immediately.

Advanced Alternatives’ On-Site Massage Team can integrate easily into any Team Appreciation Event, or Game Day Competition - making it easy for you to offer the healthy benefits of Sports Massage.
Contact Us for a Custom Quote
(Rates as low as $65 per hour per therapist ***)