"I recommend massage to athletes of all levels of ability. It will not only improve performance but also will speed up recovery time and reduce the number of muscle injuries. All this will result in making your sport more fun, which is really what it's all about anyway."
MARY DECKER-SLANEY

Massage is perhaps one of the oldest and simplest of “medical” treatments. The value of massage has always been recognised in the world of sport, but its use has recently spread to other fields. Sports Massage 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.

Sports massage 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. Sports massage increases range of movement, increases flexibility and relieves muscle soreness. It assists in injury prevention and promotes faster recovery from both training and injury. This therapy can be applied to advantage pre-event preparation, inter-event maintenance, post-event recovery and during rehabilitation.

Pre-event sports massage 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 massage 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 sports massage 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 massage helps speed the athlete's recovery time and alleviates pulls, strains, and soreness.

Maintenance sports massage is done at least once a week as a regular part of one’s training programs, although professional athletes who have their own massage therapists may have maintenance massage daily. Maintenance massage 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 sports massage 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 sports massage is to maximize athletic performance. All levels of athletes in different sports will concentrate the massage on different parts of the body.

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

Professional Teams and Athletes worked on:

• Boris Becker (Professional tennis player)
• South African Springbok Tri-nation Rugby side
• Australian Wallaby Tri-nation Rugby side
• New Zealand All Black Tri-nation Rugby side
• New South Wales Warathas Super Rugby side
• Canterbury Crusaders Super Rugby side
• ACT Brumbies Super Rugby side
• Otago Highlanders Super Rugby side
• Wellington Hurricanes Super Rugby side
• Wester Force Super 14 Rugby side
• Welsh Rugby side
• Italian Rugby side
• WP Rugby Vodacom & Currie Cup Side
• HSBS professional cycling team
• Barlow World professional cycling team
• South Africa Protea Cricket side
• Indian Cricket side
• New Zealand Cricket side
• West Indies Cricket side
• Malcolm Pringle (World record holder for 800m & 1500m in Paralympics)
• Corne Buys (Former Professional South African tri-athlete)