Sports Massages are a key tool to help keep you running. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from one, whether you have just started out and you are finding muscles you haven’t found for a long time or whether you are training for a marathon PB, your body takes a beating. 

What Is a Sports Massage?

Sports massages focus on muscle groups that are being used during physical activity whether that be running or another sport. Our therapists use techniques including deep tissue work and trigger point therapy to help reduce tension, improve mobility and aid recovery. 

Why Runners Should Consider Sports Massage

Due to running being such a repetitive motion, this can often lead to niggling injuries and tightness. Often runners struggle with tight calves and hamstrings, sore hips and achilles. 

Sports massage helps by:

• Reducing muscle soreness and fatigue after long runs or races
• Improving circulation, which speeds up recovery and reduces inflammation
• Breaking down adhesions (knots) that restrict movement
• Enhancing flexibility and range of motion, especially in the hips, hamstrings, and calves
• Preventing common running injuries like IT band syndrome, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis

For anyone training for an important race or goal sometimes this can mean a little stress and anxiety can creep in. Massages can also help runners manage this, as it often can help improve sleep and reduce cortisol levels too!

When is it Best for a Runner to Book a Sports Massage?

If you are a consistent runner and enjoy pounding the pavements or trails, regular maintenance sessions every 2-4 weeks can really keep your body in good condition and catch any issues before they become injuries.

If you are training for an event, a massage 1-3 days before a race can help loosen muscles. Once you have then run that event and had an amazing run, a post race massage 24-72 hours after can really help aid recovery and reduce DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

It is also a great way to de-brief to our sports therapist about how the race went and hear all about how it went! 

What to Expect at Our My Complete Health

At My Complete Health we have two fantastic sports massage therapists that can help you. With them both being runners themselves they understand the toll it can put on the body and the importance of looking after it. We tailor every sports massage to your running goals, and we also love hearing what your running plans are! Whether you are nursing a tight hamstring or injury, our therapists are here to get you back out on the roads!

We can’t wait to see you and hear about your running!