Should You Get a Massage Before a Race? Timing That Works

Race week brings a familiar urge: book a massage, loosen the legs, show up feeling fresh. The research on massage right before hard efforts points the other way. Here is how to time massage around a race so it helps and does not hurt your result.

What happens when you massage right before hard effort

Two trials tested massage just before fast, hard efforts.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine had 24 active young men try three things before testing, in random order: leg massage, stretching, or rest. The massage was 10 minutes on the back of the legs and 5 minutes on the front. After massage, vertical jump, sprint speed and reaction time all got worse. Only the sit-and-reach flexibility test improved. The author concluded that long massage should not be used as a warm-up.

A 2018 study in track and field athletes compared massage, a traditional warm-up, and a combination before sprint tests over 20, 30 and 60 metres. Massage alone led to slower 60-metre times than the warm-up. Adding massage to the warm-up gave no extra benefit over the warm-up alone.

The larger picture matches. A 2020 review in BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, which pooled 29 studies and 1,012 people, found no evidence that massage improves strength, sprinting, jumping, endurance or fatigue.

Why it feels good but tests worse

Massage often leaves people relaxed, loose and slow. That is pleasant on a rest day. Before a race, you want the opposite: a raised heart rate, warm muscles, and a body ready to move fast. A warm-up does that. A massage on a table does not.

Firm massage brings a second problem. Next-day soreness is common after firm work. The 2015 Cochrane review on low back pain found more pain after treatment was the most common side effect, in 1.5% to 25% of people across its trials. Starting a race with sore calves or thighs is the opposite of what you booked the massage for.

A race-week plan that works

If you like a massage in race week, these rules keep it safe:

• Book it early in race week, so any soreness has passed by race day.
• Ask for moderate pressure that you can relax into.
• Use a therapist and a style you have had before. Race week is the wrong time to try something new.
• Keep it to the areas that feel tight, such as the calves and hips, instead of a long full-body session.
• Tell the therapist your race date so the plan fits.

A short, light session the day before can be fine if you have done exactly that before past races and felt good. If you have never tried it, do not start now.

On race day, do your normal warm-up. A massage gun or foam roller does not replace the warm-up either. Our post on massage guns explains what the studies measured.

What about long stretches before the race?

The 2008 study also tested static stretching before the same tests. Stretching made vertical jump, sprint speed and leg reaction time worse too, while sit-and-reach flexibility improved. Rest changed less than either. The pattern is the same as with massage: long, relaxing work on a muscle right before fast effort makes the muscle feel looser but does not make it perform better.

Stretching still has a place at other times. Our post on stretching before exercise covers when it helps. It means the minutes before a race are better spent on a warm-up that gets you moving: easy running, then some faster strides, then the drills you use in training.

Races away from home

If you travel for a race, by car to the Okanagan or by plane to a big city marathon, long hours of sitting can leave hips and calves stiff, and it is tempting to book a massage on arrival.

A better plan is to book your massage at home early in race week, before you travel. On the trip, stand up and walk every so often, drink enough water, and do a short easy run or walk after you arrive to loosen up. If you know a long drive or flight makes your legs feel heavy, tell your therapist, who can show you a few simple self-massage and mobility moves for the trip.

Long travel also raises the risk of a blood clot in the leg for some people. A calf that becomes swollen, hot and painful after a trip needs urgent medical care.

The best time for massage is after the race

The evidence for massage is strongest in the days after hard exercise.

A 2017 review in Frontiers in Physiology pooled 11 studies with 504 people and found muscle soreness was lower with massage than with no treatment at 24, 48 and 72 hours after hard exercise. A 2018 review that compared many recovery methods found massage was the most effective for reducing soreness and the feeling of fatigue.

So the plan is simple. After the race, eat, drink, walk around, and book a massage for the next day or the day after. Keep the pressure moderate, because muscles that are already sore do not need firm work.

How long the session should be

Shorter is often enough. A 2016 review in Sports Medicine of 22 trials found that massage of 5 to 12 minutes had larger effects on performance recovery than massage longer than 12 minutes. The effects were largest after high-intensity mixed exercise and smallest after endurance exercise.

At Medstar, follow-up massage visits can be 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes. For a runner after a race, a 30- or 45-minute session on the calves, thighs, hips and low back covers most needs. A first visit is 60 minutes, because it includes a health history and an assessment. Our sports massage page explains more about timing around training.

Massage during a training block

In the weeks before a race, massage can help you handle a hard training load. One common plan is to book a session after the hardest week of a block, when soreness is highest and the next week is lighter. This keeps firm work away from key sessions and gives the legs time to settle.

Keep an eye on what the massage is doing for you. If you feel better and train well after each session, the timing is working. If you feel flat in the next run, book further from your hard days, or ask for lighter pressure.

What to tell your therapist in race week

A good race-week session starts with a short conversation. Tell your therapist:

• The date and distance of the race.
• Which muscles feel tight, and whether anything hurts in one spot.
• How you have felt after past massages: loose and fresh, or heavy and sore.
• Whether you have ever had firm deep tissue work before a race, and how it went.

With that, the therapist can keep the session moderate, focus on the areas that matter, and stop short of anything that could leave you sore on race day.

When pain in race week needs a different plan

Race week often brings small aches. Most are normal and fade with lighter training. Some need a check before you race:

• Sharp pain in one spot, such as on the shin, the top of the foot, or the heel.
• Swelling or bruising.
• Pain that changes how you run.
• Pain that gets worse as you run, instead of easing after the warm-up.

Pain on one spot of the shin or foot that gets worse with running can be a bone stress injury, and racing on it can make it much worse. Our post on bone stress injuries in runners explains the warning signs. For any of these, see a physiotherapist before the race. Firm massage on an injury in race week will not fix it.

If one calf becomes swollen, hot, red and painful, or you have chest pain or sudden shortness of breath, call 911 or go to Lions Gate Hospital emergency.

A simple rule to remember

Massage is a recovery tool. Use it in the days after hard training and after the race. Keep it moderate and early in race week, or skip it. Use your normal warm-up on race day. That plan matches what the trials found, and it keeps your legs fresh on the day that matters. After the race, give yourself a few easy days, book the recovery massage, and only then start planning the next block of training. The massage therapy guide covers first visits, session lengths and direct billing at the clinic.

This article is general information, not personal medical advice. A regulated practitioner can confirm whether the patterns described apply to you.

Sources

• Arabaci R. Acute effects of pre-event lower limb massage on explosive and high speed motor capacities and flexibility. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 2008
• Moran RN, et al. The effect of massage on acceleration and sprint performance in track and field athletes. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2018
• Davis HL, et al. Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, 2020
• Guo J, et al. Massage alleviates delayed onset muscle soreness after strenuous exercise. Frontiers in Physiology, 2017
• Dupuy O, et al. An evidence-based approach for choosing post-exercise recovery techniques. Frontiers in Physiology, 2018
• Poppendieck W, et al. Massage and performance recovery: a meta-analytical review. Sports Medicine, 2016
• Furlan AD, et al. Massage for low-back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015

This article is for general information only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual presentations vary, and assessment findings and treatment plans differ from person to person. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, neurological changes (numbness, weakness, bowel or bladder changes), or a significant trauma, contact your physician or emergency services. Care at Medstar Sport Physio & Health is provided by practitioners registered with their respective British Columbia regulatory colleges.