Should i bruise after a sports massage

This blood can be found all throughout your body in the form of knots. A knot is lymphatic fluid that is formed in such a way so it cannot make its way to your heart, as it is waste that does not benefit your body.

This fluid can build up so much in one place in your tissues that the muscle of the area can appear inflamed. Massage can break up these knots, which may cause a bruise to form. But in this case, your body benefits from what is going on underneath, as fresh blood can now get through well again.

The bruising we discuss above should disappear in less than a week—probably in about four to six days. Deep tissue massage is a popular and effective way to decrease pain and restore movement in cramped muscles and joints.

If you have chronic pain, muscle spasm, are recovering from an injury, or are dealing with repetitive use strain , deep tissue massage may your first choice. Freed from restriction and well-nourished with oxygen and nutrients from the better blood supply, your muscles can resume normal activity. There are dozens of different techniques that are considered deep tissue massage, including myofascial release, Active Release Technique , neuromuscular therapy , and trigger point therapy.

The massage therapist wants to work deeply into the tissue to find the areas that need attention. Slow, focused strokes explore the muscle, tendons, and fascia, and allow the tissue to adapt to the pressure. If your therapist finds an area that needs work in the muscle or tendon itself, he or she will use petrissage or friction to open up the tissue, increase blood flow, and flush out waste products. The more honest you are with your feedback , the more effective the massage will be.

Your therapist depends on your comments to adjust depth and pressure for the best result. It is also known as myofascial tiger point massage. Other forms of massage that might lead to bruising would include:. Regardless of what the underlying cause of the bruise is, most will result in skin discoloration. A bruise after a massage forms when blood from damaged blood cells deep beneath the skin collects near the surface of the skin.

A fresh massage bruise will often appear reddish. The bruise can then turn blue or dark purple within a few hours or days. It can be tender and at times very painful. For most people, the pain often goes away as the color changes. Since the skin is not broken, you do not risk having the bruise infected, but how do you treat bruises from massage? Other than a cold compression, over the counter pain medication and elevation of the bruised area, there is no special treatment for bruises caused by massage either deep tissue or light style massage.

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