UKH

I have a bit of muscle tightness in my legs which I am struggling to stretch (hypermobile hips mean that I often struggle to get things to stretch). It doesn't feel bad enough for physio and I am wondering about trying a sports massage. Do they actually work or is it a waste of time?

Good question? Don't know the answer and I'm sure someone qualified will be along to provide expert advice.

However, I have found that self massaging, for example, the forearm muscles (after watching various vids) helps relieve elbow (both types) tendonitis. It possibly follows on that a sport massage provided by a masseur can help other areas and benefit in the long term.

Purely anecdotal information though.

My wife swears by acupuncture, I think its like being speared

If it works for you its great, if it doesn't its snake oil

Good luck

Massage is likely to make your body feel a bit better. Its probably worth a try. 

Good evidence for many other claims made about it is lacking. 

https://www.scienceforsport.com/massage/

My wife is a physio. I know what she'd say. Do some cost comparisons and go from there. 

Massage in general is beneficial and therapeutic. 

It's not snake oil.  It has its limitations yes like any medical procedure. 

I'd  go more regularly if I had the cash . If I did I'd go monthly personally.

I work out lots so get tightened up in the back .  Massage is lovely and holistic .

I've never had a specific sports massage so don't know what the difference may be .  I've had back , fully body and Hawaiian.

All great treatments.

I have all sorts of aches and pains and get physio and the occasional sports massage. I think it can help you feel better, and get some treatment of to a flying start, but is never an 'answer' to a problem. More often, rehab type exercises to address the underlying issue are the way forward (combined with massage and self-massage....although that's pretty tricky for legs!)

If I had the time and money, I'd get my calves massaged - they're very tight from too much cycling and not enough stretching!

They did feel much better after the last massage, even if the poor girl nearly broke her thumbs! I've had masseurs use their elbows on them!

If you had the time you could save yourself the money, surely? 😉 

Thanks folks, I will give it a go and see if it helps. I have booked one for tomorrow.

Sure, but I always refuse the snake oil on conservation grounds.

No it's sustainable , they just ring them dry and place them back in the grass.

Foam roller, or solid ball (solid rubber dog ball type) helps for hamstrings and calves. 

In general I would say they can be great but it depends on the masseur. I've seen some who say they give a sports massage but who do little more than rub their hands over you. And I've seen some who understand that it needs to go almost (*) to the point of pain to be useful

I'd also go more regularly if I could as a good back and shoulder massage gets rid of the knots and increases my range of movement

(*) Depends on your pain tolerance/degree of masochism

The physio I saw for my shoulder problem says the only way to release knots is to zap them with electricity, acupuncture or massage concentrating on the 'pressure points' that will cause them to release. I can't comment on the electric option, but the other two have worked for me in different situations. Am looking forward to the 'deep tissue+indian head' massage I was given for my birthday tomorrow.

 Am looking forward to the 'deep tissue+indian head' massage I was given for my birthday tomorrow.

I like them , you feel all zingy in the brain :-D

I'm lucky one of my best friends is a massage therapist .

Deep Tissue Massage is great!

General Sports Massage is good, as long as you keep it up regularly. If you're really knotted up, I'd recommend some Deep Tissue Massage first though, as a Sports Massage probably won't touch it.

I'm relieved that you don't give too much anecdotal information about your self massaging.

If you find a good one,then yes. A good one will tell you that you should see improvements after a couple of sessions. Any more than that and the underlying problem is something else. 

unsure if the massage will help you or not....but prepare for pain. The masseurs I’ve had seem to think things are going well once they see tears in your eyes...

See a physio whose is hands on - a good combination. Sometimes working on a bit of muscle has fantastic results, but getting the sports physio perspective on why you are stiff is great.

Sports masseur in Halifax is better than most Physios I have been to see and I have seen a lot. 

Went around all sports masseurs in area. All really crap except one. 

Acupuncture did help me with my back problemos, unlike massages.

Oh I know why I'm stiff - I injured my adducter a couple of years ago and it has tightened up with the healing process. Due to being super flexible, I can't get an effective stretch for it. So it needed stretched manually. 

I had the appointment yesterday, and it hurt a lot!! Definitely feeling better today though, if still a little tender to touch

You always try one of these - they sound terrifying though - 40 lbs of pressure - but perhaps that is not as bad as it sounds! Recently discussed on a running podcast!

https://www.theragun.com/uk/en-gb/compare-uk.html

I’d recommend them for release of tension and for accelerating recovery, best regularly- weekly if you can afford it. 
I only had it once but it didn’t help with my back injury. 
I would recommend seeing as many different Physios as you can if you have a specific problem and learning about your own releases with hockey balls, rollers, therabands, determination and commitment.
If it’s a running related problem be very careful as sudden injuries can put you out for years. 

It's quite hard to massage certain parts of your own body.

You implied that you weren't stretching out after lots of cycling, which is what my reply was targeted towards.

Massages are nice I agree but a replacement for stretching? No. Not easy when time poor as it's sometimes not my priority either. We'll not go into the science (or lack of) behind massage, and cyclists do lots of bonkers things that have a base in the dim and distant past that doesn't always stack up.

Short term, massage can alleviate pain etc but there is always a root cause which needs dealing with. 

This reminds me of getting my Calves massaged out. My Physio is tiny, but I swear, one more pass and I would have been crying like a baby!

Incredibly useful for me in trying to sort out my shoulder - it helped that the practitioner climbs and understands climbers. Two important points - it hurts! Also you are likely to be given exercises to follow - if you don't do these, you won't get the full benefit.