Receiving a sports massage in Melbourne before any sporting event should be an important part of the warm up for any athlete. A massage before the event will create a state of readiness in the muscles and tissues so that the athlete’s performance will be performed at it’s peak.

Some therapists consider that a massage can take place up to 48 hours before an event, most Melbourne sports massage therapists judge that, strictly speaking a pre-event massage is one given just before the time an athlete is scheduled to compete (ideally 15-45 minutes before the event).

To answer this one needs to understand the physiological effects of a warm-up: to increase heart rate, body temperature and respiratory rate; and to prepare the body’s nervous system. Hence a pre-event massage done after the warm-up would defeat it’s purpose and you would not want the athlete’s heart rate, body temperature and respiratory rate to drop during the massage.

The main goal of a pre-event massage should be to assist in increasing the circulation of blood to the muscles to allow the muscles to be flushed and oxygenated. Tight muscles may be relaxed so that joints can be moved through their range of motion.

Emphasis should be placed on the muscles used during the event to improve performance and also reduce the chance of soft tissue injury. The sports person can use this time to focus on their strategy and race plan, to relax or complete their mental preparation.

At the end of the massage, the athlete should feel great and the melbourne sports massage therapist should feel that he has done his part in the athlete’s performance!