Effectiveness of Sports Massage for Recovery of Skeletal Muscle From Strenuous Exercise

Abstract

Case series provide little support for the use of massage to aid muscle recovery or performance after intense exercise. In contrast, RCTs provide moderate data supporting its use to facilitate recovery from repetitive muscular contractions. Further investigation using standardized protocols measuring similar outcome variables is necessary to more conclusively determine the efficacy of sport massage and the optimal strategy for its implementation to enhance recovery following intense exercise.

Increased skeletal muscle expression of VEGF induced by massage and exercise

“…These phenomena may lead to the subsequent activation of functional adaptation processes, including increases in muscle efficiency. One widely used treatment in biological renewal, which has been implicated both in the preparing of the body for the physical effort as well as in restoring performance afterward, is massage [11][12][13][14][15][16]. It is also used as a therapeutic agent in recovering from injuries, and recently has been considered as an important factor in skeletal muscle regeneration.…”

Evaluation of the effectiveness of kinesiotaping in reducing delayed onset muscle soreness of the biceps brachii

“…Its beneficial effects in reducing pain and in restoring the strength of muscles that are burdened with an eccentric effort have been confirmed [1,3,7,8,31].…”

Effects of lymphatic drainage and local cryo exposition regeneration after high-intensive exercises

“…However, in line with the present data, no effect was found on muscle function, measured as maximal voluntary isometric and isokinetic elbow flexions, and on range of motion. According to a recently published article reviewing the effectiveness of sports massage for recovery of skeletal muscle from strenuous exercise, there is limited evidence to support the sole use of massage in this context 30 . While some case series 31 and random-ized controlled trials 32 found a positive impact on functional parameters, the vast majority of identified studies failed to support these findings.…”