Hi! I’m Nedelya. I have been working as a masso-kinésitherapist since 2019. I have worked in spas and multidisciplinary clinics, and now exclusively in climbing gyms. As a climber of many years, I'm familiar with the types of muscle tensions felt by my fellow climbers and the disappointment experienced when an injury limits the practice of our sport. As such, my primary aim is to ensure that massage therapy is accessible to climbers. I'm constantly looking for new ways to better understand how the body works to offer the best and most appropriate treatment to my clients. As such, I am continuously expanding my knowledge with ongoing training.
Massage therapy is about helping to maintain well-being. For me, it's not just a relaxation session. Although you will indeed feel relaxed, it's a moment where I release the major muscle tensions in your body using different personalized techniques. During the session, we'll discuss your expectations and goals. This discussion will help me to define a suitable plan. At the end of the session, I may suggest a few stretches or self-massage techniques that you can do on your own to optimize recovery after your climb!
Here, I discuss some of the physiological benefits that massage therapy can bring.
When we train to become stronger, our body must adapt to the new physical demands we ask of it. This adaptation process can cause musculo-articular pain (micro-damages to connective tissues). I’m sure you have had post-training days when using your arms to open a door or even holding your coffee mug feels difficult. Those days when you don't even feel like moving because you're so sore... Well, massage therapy can help to reduce the feeling of delayed onset muscles soreness (which appears within a few days). It allows your nervous system to go into relaxation mode (via parasympathetic system). In addition, the techniques used in massage therapy can help improve circulation of the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
In short, massage therapy reduces the effects of stress on your body by producing feel-good hormones, which in turn reduces your perception of pain! It's no wonder you feel like taking a nap after a treatment!
Massage therapy can also be useful in supporting the body's healing process after an injury. To better illustrate how massage therapy comes into play, I'll explain how it can affect (or not) the different phases of healing:
ATTENTION: Initially, it is not a massage therapist who will take charge of an injured person, but rather the emergency services. Massage therapy is complementary to other treatments (first aid, physiotherapy, sports medicine...) and follows protocol according to the type of injury and severity.
Simply put, as soon as the body suffers a traumatic physical impact, it mobilizes its resources to heal itself. As the name suggests, inflammation sets in. Blood and lymph flow is increased locally, and an edema might appear. This process is often accompanied by pain, redness, and heat. In the first hours after the injury, it’s too early for massage therapy.
After inflammation, comes the proliferation phase, where the body regenerates the injured tissue. Without going into anatomical details, the body begins to produce scar tissue, among other things.
At this point, massage therapy complements nicely other types of multidisciplinary treatments: for instance, a massage session can help prepare your body for certain types of physiotherapy exercises by releasing tightness in the affected area.
Massage therapy attempts to counteract the abnormal scarring that causes skin adhesions. By using different techniques such as deep transverse massage, tissue decongestion with (or without) suction cups, and kneading, we attempt to break down the skin adhesions to help the structures regain normal sliding and a greater flexibility. Moreover, during a massage session, the affected joints are mobilized to promote a greater range of movement.
During the third and final healing phase, physical pain diminishes until it disappears completely, and the body returns to its normal state. At this point, you're probably back on the climbing walls and so, massage therapy is used as a maintenance . We try to help the body eliminate the persistent inflammation and that might hamper recovery. We also aim to reduce new muscle tensions as well as the risk of compensation by other muscle groups. But, be careful... The risk of recurrence is still present, which is why it's all the more important to carefully pace your trainings.
As you surely already know, climbing creates muscle tensions through its high-intensity movements and repetitive impacts. You know, your dyno proj that ejects you at all costs or that jump-start-double-clutch- barn door that you've tried 54 thousand times? Yeah...
These repetitive movements create micro-traumas and mechanical stress to our joints, which then leads to inflammation. When this inflammation is poorly managed (like when you don't take a rest day), you increase the risk of injury. In response, our body often develops muscle tensions that aim to protect us. But, that doesn’t mean you have to live with them in the long term! In fact, it's even better to address these tensions quickly, as they can lead to injury.
To conclude, for our bodies to function properly, the various tissues and systems must be free to carry out their functions. In addition to its relaxing benefits, massage therapy helps to release the muscle tensions associated with climbing, both in terms of recovery and injury prevention. A massage therapy session is taking a moment to help the body feel what's going on inside so that it can manage itself better.
Consider consulting a massage therapist:
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