What is Sports Massage?
Moving from London to Melbourne, a city known as the sporting capital of the world, I notice in the day-to-day lifestyle difference that we really are a city that loves to move and be active. We love to train and work hard. We enjoy competing. We thrive on pushing beyond our limits. But operating at such a high level, our physical output is only ever as good as our input.
What is sports massage, really?
Sports massage is a clinical application of hands-on, manual therapy. It’s a results-driven treatment designed to work on targeted muscle groups and to optimise how the body moves.
Every session starts with a functional assessment and the treatment varies between 30, 60 or 90 minutes depending on the specific goal. Often, athletes incorporate sports massage treatments during training blocks, pre-event activation or post-match recovery for various reasons such as maintenance, injury prevention, recovery and down-regulation.
There are a lot of benefits to sports massage such as easing discomfort, increasing blood circulation and relaxation of the muscles for better quality sleep and recovery.
Without these interventions, the body eventually hits a ceiling where it can no longer adapt to the training load. By incorporating recovery treatments such as sports massage, you are effectively raising that ceiling allowing you to train harder, react faster and bounce back sooner.
Sports vs Remedial: What’s the go?
This is the question I get asked most in the clinic. While there is overlap, the intent is completely different:
Remedial Massage is generally reactive. You’ve got crackling in your neck from your desk or a specific "knot" that won't go away. It’s about fixing a localised symptom to get you back to baseline comfort.
Sports Massage is proactive. It looks at your body as a functional chain. If you have tight calves, I’m looking at your ankles and your gait. It’s about your training cycle. We are assessing where it hurts and optimising how your body performs before it becomes a serious injury.
How often should I book?
If you’re training 3-5 times a week, you shouldn't be waiting until you're "broken" to get treatment.
Maintenance: Every 3-4 weeks. This is the sweet spot for catching minor restrictions before they turn into a grade 1 strain.
Peak Training: Every fortnight. If you’re in the thick of a marathon block or a footy season, your body is under constant load. You need more frequent "maintenance" to keep the tissue quality high.
And why bother?
We live in the sporting capital of the world. Whether you move your body recreationally or at a high performance level, we have to remember that our "output" is only as good as our "input."
Sports massage helps reset your body ensuring that when you head out for your next session, you’re progressing with 100% of your capacity.
