Char, DL, C Goya, and JT Lightfoot. Massage does not attenuate delayed onset muscle soreness . Southeast American College of Sports Medicine. Norfolk, VA, 1/93.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Thirty-one subjects were randomly assigned to either a massage (MASS), stretch (STR), or a control (CON) group. MASS received petrassage immediately post-exercise and also at twenty-four hours post-exercise for ten minutes on the left calf. All subjects underwent an eccentric exercise bout with a workload equivalent to 100 percent of the subjectÕs bodyweight. Plasma creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels and leg volumes were determined pre-exercise, 24, and 48 hours post-exercise. The subjects rated their DOMS on a 0-6 point scale of increasing value at the end of exercise and at 24 and 48 hrs post exercise. There were no differences in soreness levels between the subjectsÕ legs or between the treatment groups over the 48 hour period. In the MASS group, CPK showed a trend toward an increase at 48 hours as compared to the STR group (p= 0.09). Leg volumes at 24 and 48 hours in all groups showed no change from post-exercise. It appears that massage does not prevent or attenuate DOMS and that the application of petrassage may augment CPK release. Furthermore, massage does not alter leg volumes after exercise.
Key Words: petrassage, DOMS, CPK, inflammation.