Sports Massage Salary Package | BF (2023)

When someone starts a new job or business, they naturally want to know what they can expect to be paid now and in the future. How much does a sports massage salary cost, and how much can a therapist really expect to make? These are the questions we will explore in this article.

However, one of the first things to note is that most sports masseurs don't work 40 hours a week to provide massage therapy. If they do, they can burn out quickly. Doing 20-25 treatments a week is a busy and demanding schedule, and if you value your musculoskeletal health, you probably won't be doing more. If you have 20 treatments in a week and charge €35.00 per treatment, you could be earning around €700.00 per week. The table below gives you a summary of the weekly wages for sports massage by hours worked:

However, there are many variables that affect a sports masseur's earning potential and salary, so it's important to consider these along with the above calculations. Freelancing is certainly not as linear and precise as the table above.

Sports Massage Employee Salary

First, it's important to consider whether you want to work as an employee or self-employed. If you have a job, the salary is usually fixed, but there may be bonuses and commissions based on additional sales and overtime. While being employed has many benefits, especially when it comes to safety and security, it usually pays less than being self-employed because your employer also has to lay off workers. But you may have regular hours, you have a regular income, and you have other legal benefits like company pensions, vacation pay, and sick leave.

Most salaried sports massage therapists earn between £22,000 and £40,000 a year. This of course has a wide range, and there are many factors that can affect what you charge for sports massage, including the employer and its business model, location, level of experience and expertise, and the qualifications of the therapist. People with advanced sports massage credentials will, of course, demand higher compensation than those with only basic credentials.

Sports Massage Self Employed Salary

You can certainly earn more as an independent therapist, especially if you compare employee hourly rates to independent therapist hourly rates. However, it's important to keep in mind that you'll need to consider other costs associated with providing massage services, including your equipment, overhead, and taxes (often paid retroactively through a self-assessment).

Being self-employed certainly gives you more freedom to run your business the way you like, but you need to organize and manage yourself and your time effectively. You should also keep in mind that unlike when you are employed, if you are not treating clients, you generally will not make money unless you have a therapist working for you. Every week you will surely spend time and energy on advertising, promotions, inventory, doing towel washing, accounting, finding new customers and making sure your business complies with all laws. You should also consider seasonal changes and times when there may be low seasons to ensure you have a personal survival budget. It does involve a lot.

Most self-employed massage therapists earn between £35.00 and £50.00 an hour, although the actual profit they make actually depends on a number of factors including overhead such as rent, rates, equipment, travel and of course Tax.

Experience and qualifications matter

The qualifications obtained, as well as the experience and level of expertise of the therapist will certainly affect sports massage salaries, whether they are employed or self-employed. At this point, it is important to distinguish between the roles of sports massage and sports therapy and the associated expectations and responsibilities.

Sports massage is generally about manipulating soft tissues (skin, muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments) to relieve pain and release excess tension. It can be used in preparation for sports and sporting events, during events, after events and as part of a general musculoskeletal maintenance program.

Exercise therapy, on the other hand, is considered more of a holistic approach, with a greater emphasis on injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies. While exercise therapy may include some sports massage, it often includes other treatments such as cryotherapy, heat, and taping, among others.

Athletic therapists are generally trained at the level and can be compared to physical therapists who are more specialized in sports. There is no legislation regarding exercise therapy titles, so it is not considered a "protected title" like other therapeutic titles (such as the Chartered Institute of Physiotherapists and the General Board of Osteopathy).

The starting qualification isLevel 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy.This qualification is considered the minimum standard required to practice as a sports massage therapist and is therefore essential for anyone wishing to pursue a career in this field. Once the introductory level course is completed, it is possible to progress toCertificate 4 in Sports Massage Therapy, a more advanced sports massage qualification. The topics covered by these qualifications are somewhat similar, but as you might expect, the Level 4 courses are much deeper and cover a wider range of applications.

The following pages on our website outline ourSports Massage ClassesMore detail.

People with more seniority tend to be paid more, not only because of their higher seniority, but also because they have a wider and wider range of skills to serve clients. As a result, they are able to meet the needs of more complex and challenging clients.

The importance of location

As with real estate, geography and location play a key role in economic factors such as wages. If you are located in a more affluent area, or if you decide to travel to these areas and promote your services, you may be charged more than areas that are more socially or economically disadvantaged. You may also find that clients in these areas spend more time with your massage services.

Where you live or work also affects the potential size of your customer base. For example, if you live and work in an urban area, you may be marketing your services to a more densely populated population than if you were in a rural area. A final consideration is your living, working and travel costs in the area.

Many people are drawn to larger cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham because of the high density of workers there, especially office workers, who may need a sports massage more than someone who is very active during the day. However, the costs of doing business in these areas tend to be much higher, let alone buying or renting a home, so you really need to do your calculations before taking that leap of faith.

understand the competition

If you're considering the independent sports massage route, an important consideration is understanding local competition and market saturation.

How many other sports masseuses are there in your area? How much do they charge for their services? are they busy These are all important questions to have accurate answers to as it will give you great insight into whether or not your sports massage services are in need in the area.

If you're lucky enough to be the only one offering a sports massage, chances are that anyone who needs it will come to you. On the other hand, if there are several therapists offering the same or similar services as yours, it will be harder to establish yourself since clients have more choices (greater market spread). You may have to rely more on intensive promotional and marketing strategies to give your brand and services a competitive edge. At least until you prove yourself a premium service.

The Income Potential of Sports Massage

At this point, you may be asking yourself a very important question: "How much money can I expect to make?" The short and honest answer is that it depends. It depends on all the factors and variables discussed above, and possibly more.

If you do a little research like we did, you're bound to find websites that advertise high sports massage salaries and their role salaries. If you dig a little deeper, you'll find that many of these jobs are actually freelance. To further illustrate the lack of accuracy and transparency in sports massage salaries, we interviewed a leading job board with 240sports massage jobsAdvertised in the UK, these jobs have an average salary of £77,686.

In subsequent searches, the number of jobs across dates actually dropped to 229, but the average salary rose to £79,762. Average wages rose by £2,076 in just one day. According to the website, most of the jobs are in London and the South, with the East and the Midlands lagging slightly. There are certainly relatively few jobs in Scandinavia, Scotland and Wales.

To earn a salary close to the above range, you'd need to charge around £60.00 per massage and work 25 hours a week (assuming one-hour massages). This calculation does not take into account holidays or sickness, nor fees or taxes! So while this is possible, especially in the South, you have to ask yourself: is this possible?

The table below shows the highest earning potential for different price ranges based on a 20 hour work week (4 massages 5 days a week). If you're working full time, 20 hours a week is probably the most realistic, as you'll need to free up time for administration, promotions, accounting, and general prep (laundry and cleaning equipment).

While the figures above are certainly achievable, they are a far cry from the £70-80K advertised on any major job site, that's for sure! In the spirit of transparency, sports massage certainly has real promise and potential to earn a good salary, as evidenced by the stats above.

One factor not considered is you! Your desires, ambitions, goals, drive and determination will ultimately make or break your business. If you're passionate about exercise, fitness, sports, and people, you certainly have the framework to build a massage business and maximize your earning potential.

Finally, it's important to reflect on the idea that Rome wasn't built in a day. Too many people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a week, month, and year. Set realistic and exciting goals, then hold yourself accountable for their performance every day. This is the real key to success in any job or business, whether you own it or work in it.

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