Calling All Athletes!

I have provided orthopedic massage therapy to many athletes over the last 20 years! Running, Dance (Professional (2yrs of traveling working on the cast of the National Tour of Cats), High School), Golf, Gymnastics, Tennis, Football (High school, Professional), Basketball (High School, Professional), Baseball (yes High School, Professional), Weightlifting (High School, Professional) Cycling, Swimming, Triathletes, Soccer, Rugby, Hockey. I know that I did not get every Sport, But these are athletes that I have had the opportunity to provide Orthopedic Massage Therapy from the start of my career 20 years ago.

Oh, this is several years ago but one client that does CrossFit said, “You Need To Go Talk with All The CrossFit Gyms about Orthopedic Massage Therapy!” I have not done that, BUT that is a good Idea!

 

I started working out at a very young age and personally know the benefits of massage for sports performance. I have had several injuries that I’ve recovered from…. My right knee was injury playing football when I was very young. And I remember my mother working on (painfully receiving what I know today, I really needed) my right posterior knee. Later it related to a left sacral-iliac joint injury. The injury of my left SI joint then lead to numbness and loss of extension (dorsiflexion) of my left anterior lower leg. The only words that I can say, “Massage Therapy is a must for any person regularly training!” Having massage therapy, myofascial release therapy is very important to training and conditioning! It is not an option and if you are really interested in optimizing your performance! Find an experienced Orthopedic Massage Therapist and Please let me know because I also need help with my physical body.

Personally, I see Gary Fineske and this past year has been very difficult because of covid. I would say for the entire world! But Gary has been Amazing at maintaining my physical body, this is, Sports Performance Therapy! I cannot Express Enough Gratitude. For all of the work that Gary has done for me and also for so many people! It is an absolute honor to just, Know Gary!

But here is some information related to sports performance!

Think of the word “Core”, most have heard of Core Strength! When the Core is tight, the tightness will reduce strength. And rather than the word core strength or exercises for the core, think of:

Core Function! and yes, exercise is one component of core performance.

Improving Core Function, this will improve Strength and Performance!

Think of the physical body as a machine and imagine every part of the physical body moving at its very best! Yes, Massage Therapy/Sports Massage Therapy is wonderful but also think of Orthopedic Massage Therapy. Many times, we are not aware of posture or body mechanics. Sitting, standing or even sleeping will have a lot to do with how our body mechanically works and moves.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Massage Therapy! But let’s add Orthopedic Massage Therapy and Chiropractic Therapy! Oh, and Myofascial Release Therapy! and I will talk more about Myofascial Therapy later.

As an athlete, every part of the body should be free to move! and over time we all get tight! Muscles get tight, with exercise, it’ a given! Train, train, train and train makes our body tight. The soreness is a process of injuring muscle, and the body heals, grows and is stronger. The soreness is inflammation and the best analogy for inflammation is glue. Think of pouring small amounts of glue over muscles that
are used during training. Think of soreness after training. This of course is happening very slow but it’s part of the healing process. This is where Massage comes in! I absolutely love massage but when I am hurting, I need specific work related to what is happening with me. Our body is made up of muscle, the heart and digestive system, not to mention there are a lot (I mean, a lot) of muscles that move us every day! Massage, myofascial release therapy will help to break up tight muscle, fascia and a lot of areas that are just bound or stuck together.

Going back to using me as an example, I had a right knee injury. When I was in elementary, and I remember my mother massaging my right posterior knee because of the right knee pain. I also remember the position that I would sleep because it is still very comfortable for me to sleep the same way today! But the right knee injury later would lead to my Left Sacral iliac joint injury. Today, I have taken care of how my body moves and have improved my body’s function. I have improved and maintained strengthen and function of my body. Not every injury relates to another injury later in life. But some injuries are definitely very related.

When there is extra force or pressure on a joint, muscle or tendon. Or when the body cannot move because of tight muscles, the possibly for injury goes up. Nobody knows when there will be an injury. But when regular body work maintenance is done(massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, orthopedic massage therapy, etc.…), the chance of injury goes down, way down! This is where a trained professional will take care of the parts of the body that need to be improved or relating to discomfort or pain. Pain is a signal that lets us know we need some type of treatment, bodywork: Massage Therapy, Orthopedic Massage Therapy, Chiropractic Therapy, or yes Exercise and Training!

It’s a professional that will know how to put the pieces together.

I toured North America with the National Tour of Cats and worked with professional dancers; this was in January 2004 – December 2005.

The reason I went on tour, the company was losing money due to the number of injuries the cast was experiencing. This is from all the travel that the company does from week to week. A different city every week is hard on the body (it’s really hard on the body! Sleep, food and a whole lot of other areas related to travel and health!). So, my work was very important to the cast. Here is an example of Performance Therapy.

One of the cast members was limited in her performance. I had a list of people that were hurting, and she was not physically hurting. I could see areas of her body that just needed to be improved. So, when I had some time with her privately, I told her. I need to work with You as well. Her response was, “I’m not Hurting!” I told her; this is not about physical pain. She said, “ What’s wrong?” I told her that, I just see some areas of your performance that could be improved. She said, There are a lot of others that are hurting. I told her, just come in to see me and of course she did not. Well, a lot of time did passes by, and it was a pretty long time before I saw her. And I would remind her from time to time.

When she finally came to see me, I made sure to spend a lot of time with her. And of course, there was a lot of work to do. So, I made sure to spend a lot of extra time with her to take care of her. Okay, she is not hurting, and I can see so many areas of her body that are restricted in her performance. So, I was very specific with her body and improve her performance. This was over two hours of body work, and my intent was to make a strong statement so that when I would say for her to come and see me, She would.

So later before the intermission, I was standing next to the stage manager who calls the show. And she came off stage right laughing, the stage manager and I asked her, What Happened? She said, “I kicked myself!” The stage manager continues working while she explained. She said, “Before the show starts, it takes me time to warm up and stretch out. I was ready and felt ready to go. I’m usually really sweating by a certain part of the show, and it took me a lot longer before I started sweating. Usually, I am pushing myself through the show and this time I had to hold myself back. And at the close of the first act, we all finish with a big Taa Daa! and for my close, I finish with a high kick. I kicked my own face!

Orthopedic Massage Therapy can improve function and point out areas of the physical body that need improvement.

I am here to guide & Empower You for Optimal Results in Performance!

Orthopedic Massage Therapy
Improving Strength, Power and Flexibility
OmassageT.com
1244 William D. Tate Ave
Grapevine, Texas 76051