15/03/2026
Please be careful who you book with!
With increased popularity for Sports Massage in recent years, has come with it an increased number of people advertising themselves as "sports massage therapists", "sports therapists", or "specialist massage therapists" after completing an online course that can be competed in a day!
There are plenty of great sports massage therapists to choose from in the surrounding areas who have completed recognised qualifications such as Active IQ, VTCT/ITEC but unfortunately there are others with very poor standards of training. Just because someone posts their certificates, or creates "informative posts" on social media (many are using AI), it does not mean they have a good qualification. Sadly, many don't even realise their qualifications are below standard.
Do your research first!
As a rough guide;
Level 3 Sports Massage - pre & post event or maintenance sports massage
Level 4 Sports Massage - everything from Level 3 plus treating people with chronic conditions, pain, injuries. Remedial massage and corrective exercises to improve flexibility, mobility and strength
Level 5 Sports Massage/Soft Tissue Therapy - expands on the other qualifications enabling therapists to clinically assess and treat complex injuries, perform gait analysis, and develop rehab programmes
There are online and 1-day courses available which teach a routine and provide very basic knowledge. Some of these will even say they are a level 3 qualification but this is not with a Ofqual regulated organisation.
