Sports Massage Sydney CBD
Sports massage is remedial massage tuned to your training: lighter, faster work to prepare you before an event, deeper flushing and release to recover after one, and maintenance sessions between hard weeks that catch tightness before it becomes an injury. Most of our therapists train and compete themselves.
Before an event
A pre-event session is short, brisk and light. The aim is to warm the tissue, loosen the areas you know get tight and leave you feeling springy, not sedated. We avoid deep trigger point work and dry needling in the last two days before you compete, because those techniques can leave the muscle feeling tired for a day or so. Book one to two days out, and tell us the event, the distance and anything that has been niggling.
After an event
Twenty-four to seventy-two hours after a race, match or big session, a recovery treatment flushes the legs, settles the calves, hamstrings and glutes, and restores range of motion. Pressure is moderate at first and deeper where you can tolerate it. Cupping and red light therapy are useful additions in this window. If one area is sharply painful rather than generally sore, we assess it as an injury rather than massaging through it.
Between training blocks
Maintenance is where sports massage does its most useful work. A session every two to four weeks during a heavy block, timed on a lighter day, keeps the tissue moving and gives your therapist a chance to spot a hip flexor, calf or shoulder that is quietly tightening. Those sessions often include dry needling and myofascial release, and a few targeted exercises from our exercise therapy approach to fix the pattern behind the tightness.
Who we see
City2Surf and marathon trainees, lunchtime runners from the surrounding offices, gym members in a strength block, social football, netball and touch players, cyclists, swimmers and snowboarders between seasons. Many of our therapists compete themselves, so they understand the difference between soreness you can train through and soreness that needs attention.
Sports Massage: uses and benefits
What it is used for
- Pre-event preparation in the one to two days before a race, match or competition
- Post-event recovery for heavy legs, delayed-onset soreness and tight calves, hamstrings and glutes
- Maintenance between training blocks for runners, cyclists, lifters and team-sport players
- Niggles that are not yet injuries: a tight ITB, calf, hip flexor or shoulder
Benefits
- Techniques matched to the timing: stimulating before an event, restorative after it
- Dry needling, cupping and assisted stretching can be added in the same session at no extra cost
- Delivered by therapists with a Diploma of Remedial Massage and a background in sport and personal training
- Booked as a standard appointment, so health fund claims work the same way as remedial massage
Conditions this helps with
Sports Massage FAQs
When should I book before an event?
For a light, stimulating pre-event session, one to two days before is ideal. Avoid a deep treatment in the 48 hours before you compete, because the muscles can feel heavy or sore afterwards. If you want deep work done, book it a week or more out.
How soon after an event can I come in?
A gentle flush session works well 24 to 72 hours after a race or match, once the sharp soreness has settled. If you have a specific injury rather than general soreness, see our sports injuries page for how we assess and treat it.
Is sports massage only for athletes?
No. Anyone who trains regularly, from a lunchtime runner to someone starting at the gym, benefits from the same approach: find the tissue that is overloaded, release it, and adjust training so it does not come straight back.
Do you treat teenagers?
We treat clients aged 16 and over. If you are booking for a 16 or 17 year old, a parent or guardian should make the booking.
Book sports massage in Sydney CBD
Book an initial appointment online in under a minute. New clients choose "Consultation and Initial Treatment".