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Training-Room Tips: Use Olive Oil for Massage

Training-Room Tips: Use Olive Oil for Massage

Massage is an effective way to speed your athletes' recovery from injury and overuse. However, massage oil is expensive - unless you take this tip from a professional!

Don't purchase massage oil from health food, boutique, or drug stores. Instead, use olive oil! That's right, many professional massage therapists use the same olive oil that you can find in your local grocery store.

Olive Oil Advantages
Olive oil provides the perfect amount of glide, is easy on the skin and doesn't leave an uncomfortable residue when it's wiped off after the massage. It also stains clothing less than some other oils.

It's also a good base oil, meaning you can add other ingredients to make it more effective. For example, olive oil itself has little scent, but you can add essential oils such as arnica or peppermint to add an attractive aroma and improve its effect on sore muscles. These ingredients are available at health food stores.

And what type of olive oil is best? Therapist Rickey Goudreau prefers extra virgin olive oil, but he says that any type of olive oil works well.


Reference: From a conversation with Rickey Goudreau (RMT). Mr. Goudreau, a registered massage therapist with Dynamed in Sudbury, Ontario, has worked with athletes ranging from beginner to Olympic level.

 

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