Customer Reviews

Understanding Sports Massage - 2nd Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a well written, well organized, attractively designed and comprehensive book on using massage to improve athletic performance. Although it is written for use by sports massage specialists, it is also useful for athletes and coaches. As an amateur athlete and martial arts instructor, it helped me understand when and how to use massage before and after athletic events, and what benefits to realistically expect; when it is not advised; and how to do simple self-massage or partner massage. Fascinating snippets about the history of massage in sports liven it up.
The new, second edition is better organized than the original. It uses photographs instead of drawings to better illustrate massage techniques, includes many new charts and figures, and updated research on the benefits of sports massage. Learning outcomes and study questions for each chapter have been added. Lists of figures, tables, and history briefs make it easier to quickly find information, and the entire book has a more attractive design.

Excellent book for massage therapists and PT's that work with athletic clients. This book is very helpful in the review of specific stretching and massage techniques that are focused on athletic tissue related issues. Your clients will love the results from the techniques that you will learn from this book. It is illustrated very well.

This book does contain good information but it seems at times disorganized. The chapter that talks about planning the session comes after several chapters of techniques, and learning about the different types of sports massage. Planning a session is crucial so I would imagine that that should come before the other chapters and after the introductory chapter. Also, some techniques were pictures but others were not. Even if it's supposed to be assumed that a person should know all the techniques for massage, the more reference pictures to go by the better. This is still a worthwhile buy, and I plan on keeping my copy ^_^

Required text for class. Our class felt this book could have been much better laid out and explained.