The
effect of sports massage on endurance running performance
14 male athletes from a variety of local
running clubs took part in the study and were selected because they had
previously run a 5-km race in 20 minutes or faster.
Each person was given a massage, placebo
ultrasound or sitting for 15 minutes, in a random manner, before completing a
warm up of up to 10 minutes and a 5-km time trial on the treadmill.
Measurements were taken for anxiety and
confidence before each run, and heart rate and perceived exertion were noted at
every km during each run.
The results showed that 13 out 14 athletes
(93%) ran their fastest time after massage. Average massage times were 39.5
seconds (3.19%) faster after massage compared with placebo ultrasound, and
37.38 seconds (2.02%) faster after massage compared to sitting.
Average heart rate and rate of perceived
exertion did not alter significantly across the study, which shows everyone
gave their full effort to the time trials. It was important for the integrity
of the study that everyone gave their full effort, so I am grateful to you for
this.
Finally, anxiety and confidence were not
altered by the different treatments. There are some studies that show anxiety
is lowered and confidence is increased buy massage. I think the reason it
wasn’t changed in this study was the lack of a genuine competitive situation.
This is the first study to look at the
effect of massage on an endurance event and has moved the research into sports
massage forward considerably. The opportunity is now available for more studies
into massage on endurance events such as cycling or swimming.
Written By; Brian
Porter
Submitted: 21st
January 2011