Post-exercise massage

Getting a massage after strenuous exercise doesn't reduce pain or muscle fatigue, says a study.

A new study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that getting a massage after strenuous exercise doesn't reduce pain or muscle fatigue.

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Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden studied sixteen male and female recreational athletes aged between 20 and 38 who intensely exercised the quadriceps muscle, found on the front of the thighs, over three days.

The exercise involved 300 repetitions of lifting the maximum weight they could manage with the lower leg each day. One leg was massaged after each exercise session using a standard sports massage technique combining light massage, or effleurage, with firmer kneading, or petrissage while the other was left alone.

They were then tested for strength and pain in both legs and it was concluded that sports massage did not reduce muscle soreness or improve recovery.

"We did not find that sports massage of the quadriceps muscle had any effect on the local recovery after hard ... exercise. Nor did we find any effect on the pain and soreness that normally follows this kind of exercise. It may be questioned why athletes ask for sports massage because there is no apparent physical gain," ABC Online quoted the researchers as saying.