Sports & Remedial Soft Tissue Therapy (also historically known as Sports Massage) is perhaps one of the oldest and simplest of “medical” treatments. The value of S&RSTT has always been recognised in the world of sport, but its use has recently spread to other fields. It can be defined as the application of soft tissue manipulation and/or stretch techniques to the muscle and connective tissues of the body to enhance athletic performance and maximize the recovery of the athlete.

S&RSTT is a form of remedial treatment geared toward participants in sports, whether it is at recreational or professional level. It is used to help prevent injuries, to prepare the body for athletic activity and maintain it in optimal condition, as well as to help athletes recover from workouts and injuries. This therapy increases range of movement, increases flexibility and relieves muscle soreness. It assists in injury prevention and promotes faster recovery from both training and injury and can also be applied to advantage pre-event preparation, inter-event maintenance, post-event recovery and during rehabilitation.

Pre-event this therapy is done to help prevent serious injury. It will aid to warm up the muscles, stretching them and making them flexible for optimal performance. A pre-event treatment stimulates the flow of blood and nutrients to the muscles, reduce muscle tension, loosen the muscles, and produce a feeling of psychological readiness.

Whenever one exercises heavily, the muscles suffer microtraumas. Small amounts of swelling occur in the muscle because of tiny tears. Post-event S&RSTT helps reduce the swelling caused by microtraumas; loosens tired, stiff muscles; helps maintain flexibility; promotes blood flow to the muscle to remove waste build-up; and reduces cramping. In addition, post-event treatments helps speed the athlete's recovery time and alleviates pulls, strains, and soreness.

Maintenance treatments are done at least once a week as a regular part of one’s training programs, although professional athletes who have their own personal therapists may have maintenance treatments daily. Maintenance sessions increases the flow of blood and nutrients to the muscles. It also keeps the tissues loose so that different layers of muscle slide easily over each other. Maintenance sessions also helps reduce the development of scar tissue while increasing flexibility and range of motion.

It is important to remember that the objective of all S&RSTT treatments are to maximize athletic performance. All levels of athletes in different sports codes will require the focus on different parts of the body.

However, recently deep tissue and remedial therapy has also gain extreme popularity in the corporate environment due to an increase in stress levels and ergonomics related issues.