Sports Massage Association

Who are the SMA?

The provision of sports massage/soft tissue therapy is an established and key element of the service provided to athletes and the general public suffering soft tissue injuries in the UK.
In 2001 the Sports Massage Association (SMA) was founded and launched at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester as the independent body for sports massage in the UK.
The SMA cooperated with Awarding Organisations in 2009/10 to develop a suite of sports massage qualifications at Levels 3, 4 and 5 which mapped to the previous National Occupational Standards and are still current today.
The SMA chaired the General Council of Massage Therapists (GCMT) for 10 years bringing together Professional Associations, Awarding Organisations and education providers.
The SMA recruited 250 soft tissue therapists for the 2012 Games where Sports Massage was categorized as part of the Medical Services Team for the first time. The SMA sat on the LOCOG Soft Tissue Therapy work stream chaired by SMA Director Lynn Booth.
In November 2018 the SMA developed and largely funded National Occupational Standards (NOS) specifically for Sports Massage Therapy in conjunction with Skills for Health.
In 2019 The SMA worked with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) to create a Sports Massage Register using the core standards based on the NOS mentioned earlier.
In 2020 The SMA negotiated with the Office for National Statistics to have therapists with level 4 and 5 qualifications ranked alongside osteopaths, physiotherapists and chiropractors.

Why the SMA partners with Physique:

“The SMA has been in partnership with Physique for many years now and we continue in this partnership because of the benefits to our members and because of the credibility of the Physique organisation. They are a trusted partner.

Not only do our members receive added value from the educational content produced by Physique, from live webinars to exercise and video guides, but receiving a member discount in conjunction with delivery available 7 days a week and a large range of products, means our members get the products they need to do their jobs as quickly as possible.”

- The SMA

How our partnership works:

Through its partnership with the SMA, Physique provides members with many benefits such as product bundles that we create exclusively for them.

We also add value to SMA membership in a number of ways from fast delivery with flexible options, through to regular special offers and deals including our permanent 4 for 3 offer, and excellent customer service provided by our dedicated customer service team.