Body of Work

How Close to an Event should I get a massage?

Timing of massage before an event varies based on your reasons for getting the massage.

If muscle soreness and tension from a big training block are your main concern, then it is probably best to schedule a massage at least 3 days out from the event.

This lets your therapist work more deeply while still allowing you to recover from any post massage soreness or fatigue that may follow. It also allows your body to adapt to the slight movement changes that come from loosening up contracted tissue.

If your goal is to relax before the event because it helps with mental preparation, then massage the day before is fine but keep it fairly light.

Massage can also be used as part of a warm-up routine directly before the start of competition (i.e. within about an hour of start time). This is a faster and lighter style of massage that helps wake the muscles up and should be followed by an appropriate dynamic warm-up.

Sometimes things do go wrong in the days leading up to an event and this can mean a visit to your massage therapist the day before for an emergency treatment just to get you to the start line (and fingers crossed from there!)

In this  case we would need to weigh up the benefits of a deeper/stronger massage treatment with any possible negative effects on performance.