Sports massage for active people to enhance sports recovery, performance and overall wellbeing. Click the website to book online 👇
21/08/2025
Partner stretching is more than just elongating your muscles.
It involves connection, trust and support --
Being assisted to go a little further than you can or would on your own.
When we open our bodies, we also open our energy channels.
This was my first time guiding a group partner stretching session outdoors, and that fresh forest air in the morning was so uplifting!
Here’s to moving, breathing, laughing, grounding and stretching in great company 💚
📷
Thank you for being my demo body 🙋♀️
28/07/2025
👆 Let’s get real for a sec 😅
Your body deserves honesty and compassion to enhance your sports performance, and I'm here for all of it. 🚀
Come have a session if you want to truly feel better, not just get by. 🙌💆♀️💪
27/07/2025
Weekends are for long runs + blissful recovery time 🏃♀️⛰️💆♀️
13/07/2025
One of the fantastic aspects of supporting athletes 🙌 is getting to celebrate their achievements along with them! 🎉
I don't just mean getting a place on the podium 🏆 Very often, it's the thrill of completing many kilometres over challenging terrain, finishing a race with a personal best time, or just feeling in great physical and mental condition during a tournament. 🎾
Alex, it's been an honour to follow your progress over the last couple of years. May you enjoy strong, fast legs, beautiful mountain views, and real pistachio gelato - everywhere you go. 🏃🏻♂️🌄🍦
20/06/2025
Blending in with the scenery.
06/05/2025
Just another chill afternoon for Tabitha the therapy cat at Focus Sports Massage. 🙌🐈
04/05/2025
Life is good when you get to help people uncover their superpowers! 🦹♀️⚡️🦸♂️
Teaching aerial yoga is a hobby for me 🕊 I never imagined what a big part of my weekly schedule it would become! Goodness, I'm so grateful to have been asked to join the team, way back when. It's so fun to introduce people to this amazing activity that enables you to improve strength, flexibility, agility, balance and even team work, all in one class.
Gotta say a big thank you to Lucie who pretty much single-handedly introduced the whole concept of hammock yoga to the city of Porto at a time when no-one here had ever heard of it...and now it's blooming all around the country! 🌸🦋
Just wanted to share a collection of happy snaps from the last little while. 📷
See you in the silk! 🤸♀️🧘♀️
28/03/2025
Struggling with back pain? 🏋♀️💆♂️
There are many reasons why you may be experiencing a sore back, and no single technique or explanation fits every situation.
That's why it's important to have a holistic assessment of your pain. 🌿
Sometimes, the tight feeling comes from trigger points - areas of muscle tension that actually refer pain to another part of the body. For example, the hip flexor (psoas muscle) is prone to developing trigger points, and it can pull on parts of the lower back.
🙌 A good therapeutic sports massage can work wonders in relieving tension, improving mobility and reducing discomfort. Various targeted techniques can help release built-up tension, loosen restricted fascia and restore function, allowing your back to move more freely again.
If you're dealing with stiffness, aches or chronic back pain, massage therapy can be a game-changer.
Book a session and feel the difference. 🙌🚀
24/03/2025
"I don't want to sound dramatic, but just over two weeks out before my first half marathon, I felt a sudden pain in my back while walking 🙈 and after that I couldn’t stand up straight or get up from a sitting position without feeling pain.
After one sports massage + the stretching help you gave me + your aerial yoga class ➡️ well, it allowed me to run this distance and enjoy it!! 😊"
🙌 She might not fully believe it, but this gal was born to run! 🏃♀️🔥 Last weekend, she ran her longest distance so far at significantly faster than her normal training pace - not just for a few short bursts, but for every kilometre of the entire 21.2 km course. She even had enough energy to sprint the last few hundred metres, completing her very first half marathon in just under two hours! 👟🏅🎉
Well done gal, what an inspiration! 👏👏👏
May there be many more runs ahead!!! 🏃♀️
10/03/2025
Sports massage isn’t just for athletes looking to boost performance or speed up recovery! It’s also a powerful tool for rehabilitation. 👩🔬
If you've experienced a loss of strength and mobility due to injury, targeted sports massage can help to reduce pain, restore flexibility, and support the healing process to help you regain strength and good movement patterns. 🏋♂️
Whether you’re getting back into training or simply aiming to move normally again without discomfort, sports massage can play a key role in your recovery journey. 🙌
08/03/2025
New Zealand 2025: six weeks of sunshine ☀️ trail walks 🚶♀️ volcanic hikes 🌋 bus rides 🚌 music festivals 🎵💃😎 proper coffee ☕️ ... and some play time at the local gym, trying out some things I don't usually get to do.
We only filmed a few of the warm-up sets, but at least I have some nice memories!
🏞 And I couldn't choose just one NZ pic to represent the whole trip, so here are five that still only scratch the surface. 🙃
04/03/2025
Client feature: Meet Danielle! 👋
An American married to a Brazilian, now both living in Porto with their two kids (who speak with perfect European Portuguese accents! 🤣), Danielle first started running in high school, but it was an on-again off-again hobby for her for many years. 🏃♀️
🏋♀️ She rotated between many different workout regimes, including running, yoga, strength training and CrossFit, as she found them all interesting and therapeutic in some way. After having kids, however, she found that her focus on exercise was lacking and her training became inconsistent.
Upon moving to Porto, she joined and through them, found a sense of community and motivation, encouraging her to run regularly again. Inspired by the group, she has since completed several half marathons and will soon tackle her first marathon! 🏅
Danielle has a strong will to keep going, and she says that sports massage is one of the things that helps her to keep levelling up in distance.
In her words: "Massage is a critical part of anyone's physical and wellness journey, whether you are an elite runner or just hoping to survive your first marathon. Because Melissa's focus is on athletes, she has wizard-like abilities in relieving all knots and pains in your muscles — and she is even capable of finding ones lurking that you didn't know existed." 🙌
👏 Well done for all the races you've done so far, Danielle, and good luck for the Rock 'n' Roll marathon in Madrid next month! 🤘😎🏃♀️
Seja o primeiro a receber as novidades e deixe-nos enviar-lhe um email quando Focus Sports Massage Therapy publica notícias e promoções. O seu endereço de email não será utilizado para qualquer outro propósito, e pode cancelar a subscrição a qualquer momento.
Entre Em Contato Com A Prática
Envie uma mensagem para Focus Sports Massage Therapy:
Welcome to Focus Sports Massage Therapy! Sports massage sessions designed to help you enhance your sports and fitness performance, accelerate your post-training recovery and improve your movement and mobility.
I’m Melissa, a therapeutic sports massage therapist trained in New Zealand and now based in downtown Porto, Portugal.
Depending on our assessment of what your body needs, therapy sessions may include:
Deep tissue massage
Relaxation massage
Postural/muscular assessment
Acupressure
Trigger point therapy
Myofascial release
Athletic preparation or recovery
Flexibility and mobility
Massage and soft tissue therapy are beneficial to:
Loosen muscle tension
Reduce pain, tension and feelings of stress and anxiety
Prepare for and recover from sports events
Aid the release of toxins from muscles
Allow blood and oxygen to circulate better throughout the body
Facilitate the self-healing of old injuries
Help increase flexibility
Learn more about your own body
Promote a sense of wellbeing
To book a session, please take a look at the Services tab, then send me a message with your preferred day and time. I look forward to seeing you soon for some body care!
