Is sports massage good for back pain?

Is sports massage good for back pain? It is one of the most common reasons people book, because it works on the muscles of the back and the hips, hamstrings and calves that load it.

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Trusted at Premier League levelBack pain and neck pain

13Years trusted at Premier League level

5Seasons at Everton FC

25Years of hands on work

Why sports massage suits back pain

Sports massage is good for back pain because it works on the whole chain of muscles that share the load with your spine. Back pain that has built up over months often sits alongside tight hips, short hamstrings and stiff calves, so the back is doing extra work every time you bend, sit or stand.

Treating the whole chain lets the back move freely again, which is why James works from the feet and hips upward.

A man holding his lower back as he stands up from the sofa

What a session for back pain involves

A back pain session begins with your story and an Anatomy Trains functional assessment, a modern way of looking at how the whole body works together. It shows which areas are pulling on your back, often somewhere you have not felt anything yet.

Your back and the long muscles beside the spine
The glutes and deep hip muscles
The hamstrings and calves
The Fascia that links them all together

What people notice afterwards

Most people notice that bending, sitting and standing up feel easier by the end of the session. Alger, who had lived with lower back pain since his teens, described his first session like this: "there was such a release I felt like he'd created an actual hole in that area. As I moved, I could feel zero pulling, like the whole area just opened up."

The layers of muscle and Fascia beside the spine

Sports massage or other treatments

Sports massage works well alongside whatever else helps you. Some people come after trying exercises or other hands on treatment and want someone to look at the whole body, which is where this approach fits best.

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