Most improvements in athletic performance are made by coaches, and explained later by scientists. For more than 100 years, bicycle racers have used massage therapy to help them recover from a hard race so they can race on the next day. Most athletic trainers, coaches and athletes recommend massage therapy for muscle and tendon injuries, but how fast you heal depends on when you do it and most doctors don't have the foggiest idea that massage therapy hastens healing and they also don't even know when to recommend it. That means that vigorous deep massage should be started only after the injury has had time to begin primary healing several days later.
Massage therapy can also help athletes to train better.
Athletes train by taking a hard workout that makes their muscles sore and then taking easier workouts until the soreness disappears. I'm Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness. Davidson CJ et al. Rat Tendon morphologic and functional changes resulting from soft tissue mobilization. Med Sci Sports Exerc.