Why A Sports Massage Is As Valuable As A PT Session

Anyone pushing for a personal best will appreciate the value of rest. But can a sports massage help with your training goals?

The short answer? Yes! A massage therapist who knows what they’re doing doesn’t just provide relief for your body, but could also give your fitness goals a real boost. We asked our friends at Urban, the app that makes it easy to book wellness treatments like sports massage, at home, to explain the benefits. Sports massage therapist Rob explains it all.

What is sports massage for?

“When you exercise, your muscles are strengthening,” says Rob. “But with this, your muscular fibres will shorten and in the case of endurance activities, may fatigue and overload.” Sports massage releases muscular tension and inflammation you’ve built up through exercise. In short, it gives your muscles a break. Which enables them to perform better next time you exercise.

So, what exactly does a sports massage involve?

The aim of sports massage is to loosen the tense muscular fibres you’ve built up through the continuous strain of working out. “Your therapist will use long, deep stroke techniques to break these tense muscle fibres apart,”  says Rob. “Due to the tension and inflammation of the muscle, some areas of the body can be quite sore.”

When should you have a sports massage?

If you’re training for an event or competition, it’s ideal. But it has other uses too. “It’s also great when someone is experiencing muscular pain from bad posture, or just if your body is feeling restricted or heavy.”

Can sports massage fix an injury?

What sports massage is very useful for is ongoing maintenance, says Rob. “But if you’re confident in your therapist, it can be used for emergency treatment.” For a severe injury, such as a disc bulge, however, you should consult your doctor.

What’s the difference between regular massage, sports massage, and physiotherapy?

Sports massage differs from regular massage in that it’s a deeper form of massage involving the release of specific muscular tension and knots. Physiotherapy is the treatment and rehabilitation of a specific musculoskeletal condition or injury, while sports massage is the treatment of acute symptoms brought on from exercise or an imbalance caused by posture.

Urban is the easy way to book sports massages, at home

With the Urban app, you can book massages, nail treatments, facials and osteopathy sessions between 7am-11pm, seven days a week. Currently based in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Paris, book and a qualified, pre-vetted practitioner can be at yours within 60 minutes. 

Want to discover the power of well for yourself? Enter our competition to be in with the chance of winning a FREE treatment and Neat Nutrition subscription of your choice, and don’t forget to download the Urban app today.