Various forms of massage from many cultures have existed since ancient times, and it is known that massage also was utilized in different athletic circumstances. The use of massage has been registered as early as 2200 bc in Egypt, and around 1400 bc in older Chinese cultures (Calvert 2002). In ancient Greece, Hippocrates (460–377 bc)—by many considered the “father of physical medicine,”—thought of massage as a vital therapy. Greek physicians at that time performed “anatripsis,” meaning “to rub up,” on athletes suffering from metabolic substance build-up in their muscles (Calvert 2002). Massages were also performed in Greek gymnasiums called “Esclapeion” where athletic training took place. The Greek physician Claudius Galenus (ad 129–201), a court physician to the Roman Emperor Markus Aurelius, wrote that the objective of massage is to soften the body before exercise (Calvert 2002). It is said that Galenus recommended that all exercise should be preceded by massage with oil (Calvert 2002). Massage was also used for the gladiators in Rome following exercise and fights, to relieve pain and serve as a revitalizing modality (Calvert 2002).

In India, where wrestling has always been a popular sport, massage has been used as a healing modality for wrestlers since ancient times. When regular people were in need of massage treatment they were often referred to specialists in tactile therapies; those therapists practicing massage were often wrestlers (Calvert 2002).

The “Swedish Movement Cure” was originally founded by fencing master and professor Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839). This was a concept of physical exercise, including nutrition, massage, and soft tissue stretching, all used as one unified concept. The techniques, likely influenced from Chinese, Indian, ancient Greek, and Roman sources, were used to generate overall health and treat specific pathological conditions (Taylor 1860). Ling initially developed a system of gymnastic exercises, i.e. “natural gymnastics,” designed to produce medical benefits. In 1813 Ling founded the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute in Sweden, educating gymnastic instructors (Taylor 1860). The Institute still exists today in Stockholm as the “Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences,” educating aspiring physical education teachers and specialized sports coaches. With influences from the Swedish massage form, neighboring country Finland developed one of the first specific systems of sports massage at the beginning of the 1900s. The massage culture in Finland is strong, and the use of massage on athletes became a natural extension.

The Australian H. Joseph Fay described the use of massage on athletes at international events in 1916. In his book Scientific massage for athletes he described the use of massage to clear the muscles of toxic products, and to promote the growth of muscle and bone (Benjamin & Lamp 1996).

During the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris the Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, nicknamed by the press “the flying Finn,” won five gold medals, and he apparently ran the 1.5km and 5km races with only 30min rest between the two events. Paavo Nurmi brought his own massage therapist to the games to receive daily massages in conjunction with the competitions. Almost five decades later, in 1972, the Finnish runner Lars Virén also won gold medals by breaking the world record in 10000m and an Olympic record in 5000m, track and field, during the Olympic Games in Munich. Similar to Nurmi, Virén received daily massages (Benjamin & Lamp 1996). Coaches and athletes from other nations could once again observe a possible connection between massage and athletic performance, and an increased interest in sports massage started yet again to flourish.

In the United States, Jack Meagher, the American Massage Therapist Association (AMTA), Benny Vaughn, and many others have since the late 1970s helped to both repopularize and advance sports massage as a system.

The perceived benefits from sports massage are many and there are numerous statements from active athletes about the different positive effects they experience from receiving sports massage. The demand for sports massage treatments remained steady when measured over a 10-year period, indicating a consistent use of this treatment modality (Galloway & Watt 2004).

To achieve maximum benefit, and to provide the right type of treatment for different athletic situations, it is important that sports massage therapy is performed with correct techniques at the right time. Since sports massage sessions can be very important in an athlete’s active life, they should preferably be one of the athlete’s regular routines included in their sports activities. Sports massage treatments are used to assist athletes optimally prepare for exercise or competition; they are also focused to help restore the athlete’s body between heats, or shortly after strenuous exercise or competition; and they are used as an integrated modality for rehabilitation of sports injuries or specific physical dysfunctions. In professional sports, the sports massage therapist should, when possible, be part of the team surrounding and supporting the athlete. Ongoing communication and teamwork between the athlete, coach, trainer, and doctors will enhance the value of the sports massage treatments.

The observed positive effects of sports massage treatments seem, however, to be more difficult to prove through systematic research. Scientific evidence indicating beneficial effects of massage on athletes does exist, but in limited quantities. Petrissage strokes have been shown to enhance cycle ergometer pedaling performance unrelated to blood lactate, but parallel to improved recovery from muscle stiffness and perceived lower-limb fatigue (Ogai et al. 2008). Results also suggest that therapeutic massage may ease soreness and tenderness linked with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (Smith, 1994, Farr, 2002, Hilbert, 2003 and Weerapong, 2005). It has been shown that manual massage of the forearm and hand after maximal exercise is related to better effects compared with nonmassage on post-exercise grip performance (Brooks et al. 2005). Musculotendinous massage with a duration of 10 and 30 seconds has shown to generate increased ROM through modified stretch perception, improved stretch tolerance, or increased compliance of the hamstring muscles, and it is further suggested that massage may be used as an alternative or a complement to static stretching for increasing ROM (Huang et al. 2010). On the other hand, more research is needed since the precise effects of different types of massage technique like petrissage, effleurage, friction, etc., and their application before or after exercise in relation to performance, recovery from injury, or injury prevention, are not yet fully clear (Weerapong et al. 2005). Quite a few studies do also indicate that massage on athletes has minute or even no added beneficial effect on athletic performance or recovery (Tiidus, 1995, Drust, 2003, Hinds, 2004, Jönhagen, 2004 and Robertson, 2004). It is suggested that no major physiological improvements are noted from massage treatments compared with rest. It is commonly accepted that blood lactate levels are reduced more efficiently during active recovery, since blood seems to circulate more effectively during active movements compared with receiving massage strokes at rest. Massage is considered to be indicated before physical performance, i.e. pre event massage, however, due to other benefits, like reduced muscle spasms and psychological stress (Goodwin et al. 2007). According to traditional scientific criteria, it is also suggested that massage is a valid modality in sports medicine (Goats 1994).