Sports Massage and the Olympics

A recent story in the massage journal offered a glimpse into the inside world of sports massage at the highest levels of sport. In this case, the sport was swimming, and the place was the USA Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska the first week of July.

Each morning the swimmers reported first to an area with 25 massage tables at the ready। Here they received pre-event massages before warming up with an hour or so of swimming. The swimmers then focused on the finer points with the help of the coaches, and finally squeezed into their Speedo racing suits. Oof!

More massages are given the athletes both before and after they race। Swimmers go from the race to a cool-down pool to a post-race massage. Then another crew of massage therapists was available at the hotel to work on the athletes during the afternoon break. THEN the swimmers go back to the pool at 5 pm to repeat the whole cycle again.

It is a grueling and demanding regime for the athletes and the massage therapists alike। The therapists must be experienced and adept enough to handle “emergency” requests for treatment when the next race may be five minutes away. How do you fix a muscle cramp in so short a period? It isn’t easy!

One typical cramp that is common with swimmers is that after turning their heads to the left for a breath through thousands of lap, the swimmer may not even be able to turn the head to the right! But this is very similar to the cramp that office workers get after working with a phone clamped between their head and shoulder all day.

It is always a good feeling to know that you have helped someone to do their best in an athletic event, even if they did not win or make the finals. For most, it is enough to have achieved a personal best.