Although I do treat a wide variety of sporting people, from amateur runners to semi-pro athletes, boxers, basketball players, dancers, gymnasts, cyclists, swimmers to name but a few, I also treat people with injuries and conditions that affect the way they move and function, who come from other walks of life, be they people who work in an office, in a shop, actors, musicians, artists, the list is endless - and I use the same techniques and approach!
It doesn't matter whether you injured your knee while playing football, or having slipped in the shower; whether your back hurts from over-extending in a basketball game or from sitting at a desk 12 hrs a day, 5 days a week; or whether you have Tennis Elbow from playing tennis (which is actually a bit of a myth), or from repetitive strain.
My approach, no matter who you are and what you are suffering from, is to reduce the pain you are experiencing and look for what might be causing it; to relieve inflammation and tension in soft tissue (muscles and connective tissue aka fascia); and to improve the quality and range of mobility and flexibility in restricted joints.
There are many different interpretations of Sports Massage around, depending on things such as the training school the practitioner went to, the techniques they are most comfortable performing, and client expectations - sometimes, it's just all about Deep Tissue, and the deeper, the better - so I can understand the confusion. Not all Sports Massage is equal. To make it even more confusing, many Sports Massage techniques don't even use oil, so they aren't really 'massage' techniques at all. It might be more applicable to call Sports Massage 'Remedial Bodywork', but then who knows what that means?
great points, well done again on a great blog post
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