Sport Massage is defined as a specialty within the discipline of massage therapy. It may be known in the western practice of massage, but it is interesting to notice that it is also true in Ayurveda.
As a reminder, sport massage was developed for the sport athletes. It emphasizes prevention and healing of injuries to the muscle and tendons. It includes three types of routine: pre-event, post-event and maintenance therapy.
The benefits are several - and it will be subject of a more detailed post - but it mostly increases the performance of the horse, it helps in the elimination of the toxins, it speeds up the recovery time and it prevents from injuries. At a mental level sport massages improve the focus of the horse and help with the event related stress.
Now, although both systems share the same approach and benefits of the practice of sport massage there is a difference in the procedure. Traditional Sport Massage Therapy focuses on the muscles pertinent to particular physical activities. On the other side Ayurvedic Sport Massage Therapy emphasizes the joints and spends longer period on the joints.
In the context of equine massage I have to agree that an extra attention on the joints is not to be neglected as they are under a lot of pressure. Having a practice that addresses both the muscles and the joints is ideal. It has the advantage of approaching the musculoskeletal system in its totality.
