Sports Massage in Ede on the Veluwe

Not at all. Sports massage is for anyone who regularly puts their body under load, whether through sport, physical work, or long hours sitting at a desk. The techniques I use are just as effective for someone with neck and shoulder tension from office work as for a marathon runner with tight hamstrings. If your muscles are under strain, sports massage can help.

For targeted work on one problem area, such as knees or shoulders, 60 minutes is often enough. With 90 minutes I have room for a thorough full-body sports massage, including all the relevant muscle chains. It takes at least 45 minutes for your nervous system to genuinely settle, so if you want recovery and relaxation alongside the focused work, I'd recommend a longer treatment. My pricing is structured so that longer treatments are better value per minute, making it easier to choose yourself.

It depends on your goal. A pre-game sports massage, one to two days before a competition or event, improves circulation, increases flexibility and prepares your muscles for performance. A post-game massage, 24 to 48 hours after exertion, focuses on recovery: reducing soreness, clearing waste products and preventing stiffness. Regular maintenance massages between training treatments are most effective for long-term injury prevention.

The same list applies to sports massage as to all my other treatments. What comes up most often with athletes is a fresh injury: I do not touch it for the first 72 hours. What surrounds it is usually fine, because the muscles compensating for the injury are the ones getting overloaded.

Massage is non-invasive, relaxing and safe for most people. Whether you can be massaged depends on the level of the contraindication. There are four, and the difference determines exactly what is and isn't possible.

1. No contra-indication: massage can go ahead as normal. Nothing stands in the way of a treatment.

Osteoarthritis · Pelvic floor complaints and diastasis · Work-related overuse · Breastfeeding · Burnout and chronic stress · Fibromyalgia · Heel spur · HSP, ADHD and autism · Jaw tension and teeth grinding · Lower back pain · ME/CFS and long covid · Stomach and bowel complaints · Miscarriage and pregnancy loss · Neck pain and a stiff neck · Overworked muscles from sport · Menopause symptoms · Postpartum · Rheumatoid arthritis in remission · RSI and CANS · Scoliosis · Sleep problems and restless legs · Tension headache · Muscle soreness after training · Work-stress shoulders

2. Relative contra-indication: massage is possible, with adjustments. I treat you, but adapt pressure, position, duration or technique.

Facial paralysis · Anxiety and panic · Asthma and COPD · Pelvic instability · Trapped nerve · Blood thinners · Carpal tunnel syndrome · Depression · Diabetes · Dizziness · Intermittent claudication · Frozen shoulder · Swollen lymph node · Herniated disc · High or low blood pressure · Hypermobility and EDS · Sciatica · IVF treatment · Cancer and aftercare · Caesarean section · Knee complaints · Groin injury · Lipoedema · Runner's knee · Lymphoedema · Menstruation, PMS and endometriosis · MS, Parkinson's, epilepsy, stroke · Kidney problems and dialysis · Nut allergy · Oedema · Oil allergy · Osteoporosis · Tendon irritation · Psoriasis in remission · Raynaud's · Thyroid complaints · Shin splints · Varicose veins · Lumbago · Strong painkillers · Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow · Tinnitus · Trauma and PTSD · Ankylosing spondylitis · Pregnancy

3. Local contra-indication: massage is possible, but not on that spot. I treat the rest of your body as normal and simply leave the affected area alone.

Acne, rosacea and folliculitis · Bursitis · Eczema · Sprained ankle · Gout · A lump or pain whose cause isn't known · Cold sore · Hives · An open wound or bruise · A local inflammation or inflamed joint · Recent fracture · A muscle tear or strain · Fresh tattoo, 4 to 6 weeks · Fresh piercing, until it has closed · Fresh scar · Athlete's foot and nail fungus · Molluscum contagiosum · Warts · Sunburn

4. General contra-indication: no massage. Here I cannot work safely and the treatment does not go ahead. We reschedule your appointment.

Acute injury, the first few days · Acute psychosis · An acute situation that needs a doctor first · Phlebitis · Shingles · Heart condition, untreated or unstable · Concussion · A skin complaint of unknown cause · Fever, flu or covid · Impetigo · Lice · A migraine or cluster attack · A mole that is changing, growing, itching or bleeding · Under the influence of alcohol or drugs · An infected tattoo or piercing · Recent surgery · Ringworm · High-risk pregnancy without approval · Scabies · Strong painkillers that leave you drowsy or dizzy · Thrombosis or suspected thrombosis · Whiplash, the first few days · Erysipelas and cellulitis · A torn calf muscle, the first two weeks

Two things deserve extra emphasis. I do not treat an injury that has not been diagnosed: with a tear, a fracture or inflammation, working through it can make the damage worse, and without a diagnosis I do not know what I am dealing with. Have it checked first. And with a muscle tear or strain I stay off that area until it has settled; I treat the rest of your body as normal, so the compensation does not seize up.

Does a contraindication mean a treatment is never possible? In most cases, no. For many conditions massage is actually therapeutic, as long as we adapt it. Let me know when you book and I'll tailor everything to you.

Sports massage can be more intense than a relaxation massage, but it should never be unbearable. The intensity depends on your situation: after a marathon I work with less pressure than during a maintenance treatment in the middle of your training season. During the treatment I use a scale system so you can learn what works for you. You are always in control. The goal is therapeutic intensity, not pain.

Deep tissue massage targets chronic tension and pain in the deeper muscle layers, regardless of the cause. Sports massage is more specific: I take into account your sport, your training schedule and your competition calendar. The techniques overlap in part, but with sports massage I also use activating techniques such as tapotement and specific stretching protocols. I also provide personalised recovery advice. Not sure which suits you best? Let me know and we can talk it through together.

I work on the table with oil or emulsion, so for the best result you undress to the level where you feel comfortable. You lie under a towel and I only ever uncover the area I'm working on at that moment, the rest stays covered. If I'm working on a specific area such as your legs or shoulders, I'll keep that in mind. If anything feels off for you, just say so and we'll adjust it.

Try not to come on a very full stomach and drink plenty of water beforehand. It helps me enormously to know your training schedule and whether you have a competition or event coming up, because that shapes how I work. Have a think in advance about where your complaints or stiffness sit, so I can assess your posture and mobility properly during the intake. The more I know about your load, the better I can help you.

That depends on how intensely you train and what your goal is. For long-term injury prevention, regular maintenance massages between your training treatments are most effective, and for many active people once every two to four weeks works well. If you're building toward a competition, we'll plan the treatments around your schedule. We'll discuss during the intake what's realistic for your body and your load.

At the end of the treatment I send you off with personal stretching and recovery tips, tailored to your body and your sport. Drink plenty of water that day so the loosened waste products clear out, and there's a shower available. Try not to plan a heavy workout straight after the treatment and give your muscles a little room. After that you leave ready for your next training.

Nothing to stress about, many people who come to me are doing this for the first time. We start with an intake where I discuss your training schedule, complaints and goals, and assess your posture and mobility. Then I warm your muscles up gently before working deeper, so your body has time to adjust. The only thing I ask of you is that you're honest about what you feel, and the intensity will always be right.

I combine five core techniques: effleurage to warm your muscles up, petrissage to knead and compress, friction for targeted pressure on adhesions and scar tissue, tapotement to activate the muscles, and trigger point therapy for focused pressure on pain points. Which ones I use and how deep I go depends entirely on what your body needs at that moment. That's why no two treatments are exactly the same.

Definitely. Long hours of sitting put your body under load just like sport does, only differently. The tension that builds up in your neck, shoulders and back I treat with the same targeted techniques I'd use on an athlete with tight muscles. If your muscles are under strain from your working posture, sports massage can release that tension and help you move more freely again.