**2. Soft-tissue techniques in sports-injury prevention and rehabilitation**

#### **2.1 Sports massage**

Sports massage involves performing soft tissue-manipulation techniques on athletes to maximise performance and prevent or repair injuries. The sports massage techniques aimed at maximising performance and preventing injuries are divided into pre-competition (i.e. before the sports event) and post-competition massage techniques. When a sport includes breaks, massage is often performed during such breaks [1].

#### *2.1.1 Sports massage techniques*

Massage aimed at repairing sports injuries is mainly applied in the physiotherapy laboratory during rehabilitation. The techniques of applying pressure and mobilising an athlete's anatomical structures are delivered either by the physiotherapists using their hands or special massage equipment.

Sports massage is predominantly based on the techniques based on the Swedish massage techniques and includes manipulations such as slips-kneading, kneading, twisting, percussion, and vibration [1, 2]. The main difference between sports and classic massage is that the two forms of massage serve different purposes and are therefore applied differently. For example, in most cases, sports massage is applied with more pressure because athletes' bodies require a more aggressive approach due to sports adjustments. In addition, there are manipulations, such as stripping massage (i.e. special transverse-friction massage), that are used almost exclusively in the rehabilitation of sports injuries [1, 2].
