Sports massage

Sports massage is a targeted treatment to help relieve muscle tension, improve flexibility and support recovery. It’s often used after exercise but it’s just as effective if you’ve been dealing with tightness from sitting at work, travelling or everyday movement.

Sports massage isn’t just about recovery, it’s about helping your body work better. The benefits go way beyond the gym – it can help release deep muscle tension, improve flexibility, boost circulation and reduce aches from sitting all day. It’s also great for preventing injury – whether you’re lifting weights, chasing a toddler or just dealing with everyday stiffness.

No, a sports massage should never be painful. It might feel slightly uncomfortable at times when your therapist uses stronger pressure but you can always ask for it to be lighter.

Both treatments use strong pressure to release tension, but they’re designed for different things.

Sports massage is more targeted. It focuses on specific problem areas, like tight hamstrings, stiff shoulders from sitting or post-workout soreness, and uses techniques like stretching, trigger point work and deep pressure to help you move better and recover faster. It’s ideal whether you’re really active or spend most of your day at a desk.

Deep tissue massage is a more general, full-body treatment. It’s great for easing overall tension, breaking down stubborn knots and helping your body feel looser all over – especially if you’re carrying stress or stiffness from daily life.

Nope – it’s for anyone with muscles that feel tight, tired, or overworked.

While it’s great for runners and gym-goers, sports massage is just as useful if you sit at a desk all day, carry stress in your shoulders or deal with recurring niggles. It’s about targeting specific problem areas to help your body move and feel better, whatever your routine looks like.

It depends on the type of pain. A sports massage is likely to help with muscle soreness and tightness after a workout, but for medical conditions like arthritis, it’s better to see a doctor or physiotherapist. For soft tissue injuries, like a pulled muscle or pinched nerve, try our specialist injury/pain management massage.

Yes, but we recommend getting one no later than 72 hours before your race, and asking your therapist to keep the pressure fairly light. That’ll make sure your muscles have time to recover before the event.

Read more in our guide to massage for marathons.

Yes, your mobile massage therapist will bring oils and equipment for your treatment. You'll just need to grab some towels (we recommend three for the table and to cover you).

Learn more about how it works

Yes, we offer fully customisable massage sessions. From massage type to pressure level and extras like aromatherapy, you can tailor your session to suit your needs. You’ll see all the options to customise your experience when you book.

Our prices reflect the cost of living in each area to make sure Urban pros earn fairly. They also vary by time of day/week:

Off-peak hours:

Monday to Friday: 7:00 AM to 6:59 PM

Peak hours:

Monday to Friday: 7:00 PM to 10:59 PM
Saturday and Sunday: All day (7:00 AM to 10:59 PM)

You can book a mobile sports massage in London and the South East, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Paris.

Just pop in your postcode, select sports massage and choose a qualified pro near you. Same-day appointments are often available, so you can get moving again.