The efectiveness of therapeutic massage in professional long-distance runners - case study

Background: Regardless of the sport discipline, the rules of prophylaxis, coaching methods and experience, injuries and contusions in athletes occur. They are inevitable, and when they eventually appear, a comprehensive therapy should be applied to avoid complications and further injuries.Material and methods: A female runner was given a classical massage, before and after the training session each of 10 minutes and, additionally, two sessions of 45-minute-tensegrity massage. Two diferent confgurations were worked out (I and II) because only selected connective tissues were intensively sensitive to compression. Results: After the classical massage the decrease in pain of fbular muscles (peroneus longus and brevis) was achieved, however, after the tensegrity massage the reduction of pain in inguinale ligaments was additionally observed. The massage of the tissues being in direct and indirect contact with the injured area resulted in complete pain elimination.Conclusions: Tensegrity massage can be used in the cases of connective tissue injuries and other mild injuries which are found in athletes. The choice of the type of the massage always depends on current symptoms and needs of the athletes. The therapy ought to be completed with the education on the preventive activities which athletes should follow. Keywords: classical and tensegrity massage, injury, pain