The effectiveness of sports massage for recovery on lower body performance / Muhammad Shafuan Muazzam Md Salleh

Sports massage was a method that combined Swedish massage techniques to stimulate circulation. It performed for recovery after sports event to reduce muscle tension, soreness and recovery time. However, there is limited evidence on its effectiveness on recovery for lower body. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of intervention for recovery on lower limb among inactive male participants. Fifteen inactive male participants were recruited. This study is a repeated-measure study design consist of control and two types of recovery exposures. Participants exposed to three trials; control trial with no intervention, sports massage and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching. During each trial, participant performed exercise sets of calf raise and sets of squats to induce muscle soreness where participants performed until fatigue and cannot continue with the exercise. Perceived muscle soreness, range of motion (ROM) of knee and ankle joint, calf circumference, thigh circumference, blood pressure and heart rate were measured before exercise, immediately after exercise, after the intervention, 24 hours and 48 hours post-exercise. Participants completed all three exposures in a randomised order. The data was analysed by using mixed ANOVA with repeated measures. As a result, all the result between the exposure indicators perceived muscle soreness, range of motion (ROM) of knee and ankle joint, calf circumference, thigh circumference, blood pressure and heart rate were not significant. In conclusion, the present study show that 20 minute of massage and PNF stretching unable to facilitate recovery on lower limb indicators among inactive male participant.