Sports massage is the use of massage for the treatment and prevention of sports injuries.

Sport massage uses the application of massage techniques that follow sound anatomical and physiological consideration, combined with basic musculoskeletal evaluation techniques to ensure the health and well-being of the athlete and to enhance athletic performance.

In general, sports massage can be used as part of a training program to help prevent injury; a rehabilitation program to treat injury; a warm up for an event or as part of the wind down after the event.

Benefits of sports massage:

• Speeds up the healing of damaged or overworked tissues and muscles thus reduces recovery time and allows a sport person to regain their health and performance
• Increase fitness capabilities and performance potential
• Prevents future injury by identifying and treating current muscle weakness, tiredness and problem areas
• Post-event massage helps clears out waste and toxins eg lactic acid from muscles , reducing stiffness and enabling a faster recovery than post event rest
• Massage helps break up adhesions that can develop between the fascia of different muscles, thus improving muscle suppleness and mobility
• Enables muscles and joints to heal faster after injury
• Improves flexibility and the suppleness of muscles and joints
• Peak performance can be reached faster and, once reached, sustained over longer periods