Home comforts

Sports therapist Laura Dent from The LSE Treatment Clinic offers tips to your partner on how to give a sports massage at home

Always work towards the heart. This is to help the body clear waste products via the circulation – the heart and lungs process these substances and remove them from the body.

Use firm pressure that doesn’t cause pain.

Have a picture of the muscle anatomy in front of you so you can see how the muscle should look and feel.

Always use a lubricant to avoid skin irritation. The best oil is Chemovine.

The major muscle groups in the legs are calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes. Start at the bottom of the leg near the ankle and work up. Use long, firm strokes with your whole hand, mixed in with firm pressure from your thumbs.

Stretching and foam rolling is useful in between massages and should always be completed after exercise.

If you’re brave, have an ice bath after exercise. This can be cold water in the bath covering the legs for 10 minutes. Wiggle your legs throughout to avoid creating a microclimate around the legs and not gaining the full benefit of the coldness. The coldness shuts off capillaries and reduces the micro bleeding that causes delayed onset muscle soreness – that aching feeling you feel the day after exercise.