Knots in Gastronemious

[ulviking44]

Hey everybody,

My name is Alan. I've recently completed year 1 (of 2) in an ITEC sports injury / therapy course. Over the summer i am doing some massage work with some people i know for the experience and to make sure i dont get rusty.

My brother is a thai boxer and has a fight in two days time. Last night while giving him a massage i found some knots in his gastronemious - 3 in his right and 1 in his left. I tried some effleurage and petrissage but there wasn't much joy in working them out.

I have worked out knots before but these few are more difficult to work out. My question is should i go deeper with the massage so soon to his fight (will i do damage) or should i just continue to work light over these areas not fully working them out before the fight?

Any advice is appreciated,
Alan

[Heidi]

Hi
The answer to this will probably vary from therapist to therapist. Personally, I would say that if he hasn't really noticed any problems in his calf muscles then I would leave it until after the fight and then concentrate on trying to break them down with some deeper work.
If he has not had any calf problems, he probably won't thank you for giving him sore calf muscles 2 days before a fight!
If he does have calf problems which need work before the fight, then tread carefully. Light massage and some trigger pointing may help, as well as lots of stretching. But other than that, leave it until after the fight.