This article will concentrate on massage immediately prior to the event and a question that is often posed is should the pre-event massage happen before or after the athlete warms up.

To answer this one needs to understand the physiological effects of a warm-up: to increase heart rate, body temperature and respiratory rate; and to prepare the body's nervous system.

Hence a pre-event massage done after the warm-up would defeat it's purpose and you would not want the athlete's heart rate, body temperature and respiratory rate to drop during the massage.

In general a pre-event massage should assist in increasing the circulation of blood to the muscles to allow the muscles to be flushed and oxygenated. Tight muscles may be relaxed so that joints can be moved through their range of motion. Emphasis should be placed on the muscles used during the activity so improve performance and also reduce the chance of injuries. The athlete can use the time to focus on their event, to relax or complete their mental preparation. At the end of the massage, the athlete should feel great!

More specifically before giving a pre-event massage, the therapist should ask several key questions which relate back to the article "Sports Massage - An Introduction"(1) namely what techniques should be used and what is the intent. These question include
- what type of event is the athlete competing in? Are lightening quick reactions required as a pre-event massage given too close to the event may dull reaction times?
- does the athlete's sports permit the use of oils or lotions during the pre-event massage?
- is the athlete required to be "loose" prior to the event (eg boxing) or relaxed (bowling)?

The massage should generally be done at a moderate pace, non-specific, relatively light, warming and short in duration (no more than around 15-20 minutes). It certainly does not have to be a complete routine. As with most massage treatments, it is preferable to be conservative - too little is better than too much. The massage must not be painful or include high impact techniques such as deep cross-fibre frictions or deep muscle therapy. The techniques most commonly used are general Swedish techniques (petrissage, vibration or percussion), compression, jostling, broadening strokes and general frictions.