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By Ethan Farr, Myotherapist It is widely recognized that myotherapy offers numerous benefits for athletes, both in terms of enhancing performance and speeding up recovery. However, many of you may be asking: When is the ideal time to see my myotherapist to ensure I perform at my best during my next event and continue to thrive in future competitions? If you're unsure, this blog post is tailored just for you! We'll dive into the timing and benefits of myotherapy before and after your events, helping you make the most of your treatment for optimal results.  Now, should you see a myotherapist before your event to prepare, or should you schedule a session afterward to recover? The answer isn’t a simple one-size-fits-all; it depends on your needs, goals, timing, and what your event entails. Seeing a myotherapist before an event is all about preparing your muscles, joints, and fascia for the physical demands ahead. Before a big competition, it’s crucial that your muscles are fully “activated” and prepared to perform at their best. A pre-event session can help with this by targeting specific muscle groups that need to be loosened and activated.Techniques such as soft tissue release and stretching can improve your flexibility and range of motion, ensuring that your body is ready for any movement demands during the event. One of the most important benefits of pre-event myotherapy is injury prevention. By identifying and treating areas of tension, tightness, or past injuries, your myotherapist can help mitigate the risk of strains, sprains, and other common sports injuries. Regular treatment before events can keep your muscles and fascia in top condition, reducing the likelihood of injury during high-intensity activity. Now the next big question is how long before your event should you schedule your appointment and to that I would suggest that it is best to schedule a session 2-3 days before your event. This gives your body enough time to benefit from the treatment without any lingering soreness or fatigue post treatment. Post-event myotherapy is all about recovery — helping your body bounce back more quickly from the physical stress it endured during your competition or training. After a high-intensity event, your muscles may feel sore, stiff, or fatigued. Myotherapy helps to alleviate this discomfort by improving circulation, reducing inflammation, and promoting muscle relaxation. Techniques like deep tissue massage and myofascial release can break down muscle adhesions and knots, speeding up the recovery process and static cupping. In addition to easing muscle soreness, post-event myotherapy can also help in the repair and restoration of muscle tissue. Intense physical activity can lead to microtears in the muscles, and myotherapy works to accelerate the healing process by increasing blood flow to the affected areas. This increased circulation helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, promoting faster tissue regeneration. Moreover, myotherapy supports the body’s natural recovery mechanisms by reducing the build-up of lactic acid, which can contribute to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The timing of post-event treatment is just as important as pre-event preparation. Ideally, you should seek treatment within 24-48 hours after your event. This is the window when your muscles are most receptive to recovery techniques and where the impact of myotherapy can be the most beneficial. Delaying treatment too long may hinder your body’s ability to recover efficiently and delay your return to full performance. In some cases, a follow-up session after a few days may be necessary to address deeper muscle tension or areas that didn’t fully heal after the first treatment. Both pre- and post-event myotherapy have distinct benefits, but the real magic happens when these sessions are incorporated into a regular routine. Athletes who undergo consistent myotherapy treatments — even outside of specific events — experience long-term improvements in flexibility, strength, and overall performance. Myotherapy can help reduce the risk of chronic injuries, improve posture, and maintain muscle balance, which is essential for preventing overuse injuries that can develop over time. Are you training for a major sports event? Book an appointment with Ethan to make sure you're in top condition for the big day. He can create a personalised treatment plan to help you perform your best during the event and recover effectively afterward. By Ethan Farr, Sports Myotherapist & Exercise Scientist Sports Myotherapy is a specialised form of manual therapy that focuses on the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries commonly encountered in athletes of all levels including young athlete development, elite and sub-elite level athletes to even your weekend warriors and general gym goers.  As a Myotherapist with a degree in Sports and Exercise Science, I'm the ideal sport focused therapist to help you move through a comprehensive rehab plan that considers your sport, your fitness, the other demands of your lifestyle including work, family and social life.
Sports Myotherapists like myself utilise a combination of hands-on techniques, such as deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, stretching, dry needling, cupping and corrective exercise, to address muscle imbalances, alleviate pain, and enhance athletic performance. Sports Myotherapists work closely with athletes to identify underlying biomechanical issues, design personalised treatment plans, and provide ongoing support to optimise recovery, improve performance and prevent future injuries, making it an integral component of athletic training programs. Exercise science is a multidisciplinary field that explores various aspects of human movement, physical activity, and exercise performance. It encompasses disciplines such as physiology, biomechanics, anatomy, kinesiology, psychology, and nutrition to study how the body responds and adapts to exercise and physical activity. Exercise scientists investigate topics such as the physiological effects of exercise on different systems of the body, the mechanics of human movement, the psychological factors influencing exercise behaviour and performance, and the role of nutrition in supporting physical activity and athletic performance. This field is crucial for understanding how exercise can be utilised for health promotion, athletic training, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement across diverse populations. Exercise science provides valuable insights into the biomechanics, physiology, and pathology of the human body during physical activity, which can inform myotherapy treatments in several ways. Understanding the principles of human movement and functional anatomy allows myotherapists to assess movement patterns, identify muscular imbalances, and pinpoint areas of dysfunction contributing to injury. Additionally, knowledge of exercise physiology enables myotherapists to tailor treatment interventions to enhance tissue healing, improve muscle strength and endurance, and optimise neuromuscular control. By integrating exercise science principles into myotherapy practice, therapists can develop comprehensive treatment plans that not only alleviate current symptoms but also address underlying causes and promote long-term musculoskeletal health and performance. Experience working in fitness and with athletes provides valuable insights that can significantly inform myotherapy treatments. Firstly, familiarity with various athletic activities and sports-specific movements allows myotherapists to understand the specific demands placed on the body during training and competition. This understanding enables them to tailor treatment plans to address the unique biomechanical stresses and patterns of movement associated with each individual sport, thus optimising treatment outcomes. Moreover, working with athletes offers exposure to a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions commonly encountered in sports and fitness settings. This hands-on experience enhances a myotherapist's ability to assess, diagnose, and treat injuries effectively, drawing on practical knowledge gained from working with individuals across different sports and fitness levels. If you want to see the difference a sports myotherapist/exercise scientist can make to your sports rehab, return to match fitness and improved peak performance, book yourself an appointment with me at www.simplewellness.com.au/treatments-bookings or call us on 03 8204 0970. I would love to have the chance to help you be better than you thought was possible. |
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