I used to do it before every game, so did a lot of other players, and it never hurt any of us. The logic behind heat rubs as a treatment is that heating the muscle increases blood flow which in turn aids faster healing. Increasing the blood flow before a game was, in our belief, beneficial as the increased blood flow better prepared the muscles for the workout they were about to receive. Whether you use a heat rub or not, what is most important is that you stretch properly and do a good warm up before undertaking any strenuous workout. If you have a physio or trainer you can talk to, they would be the best people to consult about these sorts of practices. Sometimes, if you sustain an injury, icing is preferable to heat rubs as it is, or at least was, more important to reduce swelling (by icing) than aim for any type of healing through increased blood flow which may aggravate the swelling.
Deep heat is generally used to help with muscle soreness after the game, I'm not sure if there would be much if any benefit before but I don't see any problems in doing so
Yes, but I think it's probably better afterwards. It's worthwhile taking a freeze spray with you for any new injuries...
Yes, its common place.
Yes. In fact you often see (smell) plenty of players running onto the field with linament of some type on.
