Psychophysiological effects of massage-myofascial release after exercise: a randomized sham-control study.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of massage on neuromuscular recruitment, mood state, and mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) after high-intensity exercise. DESIGN: This was a prospective randomized clinical trial using between-groups design. SETTING: The study was conducted at a university-based sports medicine clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two (62) healthy active students age 18-26 participated. INTERVENTIONS: Participants, randomized into two groups, performed three 30-second Wingate tests and immediately received whole-body massage-myofascial induction or placebo (sham ultrasound/magnetotherapy) treatment. The duration (40 minutes), position, and therapist were the same for both treatments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dependent variables were surface electromyography (sEMG) of quadriceps, profile of mood states (POMS) and mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) of trapezius and masseter muscles. These data were assessed at baseline and after exercise and recovery periods. RESULTS: Generalized estimating equations models were performed on dependent variables to assess differences between groups. Significant differences were found in effects of treatment on sEMG of Vastus Medialis (VM) (p = 0.02) and vigor subscale (p = 0.04). After the recovery period, there was a significant decrease in electromyographic (EMG) activity of VM (p = 0.02) in the myofascial-release group versus a nonsignificant increase in the placebo group (p = 0.32), and a decrease in vigor (p < 0.01) in the massage group versus no change in the placebo group (p = 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Massage reduces EMG amplitude and vigor when applied as a passive recovery technique after a high-intensity exercise protocol. Massage may induce a transient loss of muscle strength or a change in the muscle fiber tension-length relationship, influenced by alterations of muscle function and a psychological state of relaxation.

Author information

Author/s: Arroyo-Morales, Manuel (M); Olea, Nicolas (N); Martínez, Marin Manuel (MM); Hidalgo-Lozano, Amparo (A); Ruiz-Rodríguez, Concepción (C); Díaz-Rodríguez, Lourdes (L);

Affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. marroyo(-atsign-)ugr.es

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) (J Altern Complement Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Dec; vol 14 (issue 10) : pp 1223-9

Dates: Created 2009/01/06; Completed 2009/04/30;

PMID: 19123877, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 4/30/2009, IMS Date: 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.