EFFLEURAGE MASSAGE, MUSCLE BLOOD-FLOW AND LONG-TERM POSTEXERCISE STRENGTH RECOVERY

Manual massage is commonly assumed to enhance long term muscle recover y from intense exercise, partly due to its ability to speed healing vi a enhanced muscle blood flow. We tested these assumptions by daily (fo r four days) massaging the quadriceps muscles of one leg on subjects w ho had previously completed an intense bout of eccentric quadriceps wo rk with both legs. Immediate post-exercise isometric and dynamic quadr iceps peak torque measures had declined to approximately 60-70 % of pr e-exercise values in both legs. Peak torques for both the massage and control leg tended to slowly return toward pre-exercise values through the subsequent four days (96 hrs). There was no significant differenc e between the isometric and dynamic peak torques between massage and c ontrol legs up to 96 hours post-exercise. Leg blood flow was estimated by determining femoral artery and vein mean blood velocities via puls ed Doppler ultrasound velocimetry. Massage of the quadriceps muscles d id not significantly elevate arterial or venous mean blood velocity ab ove resting levels, while light quadriceps muscle contractions did. Th e perceived level of delayed onset muscle soreness tended to be reduce d in the massaged leg 48-96 hours post-exercise. It was concluded that massage was not an effective treatment modality for enhancing long te rm restoration of postexercise muscle strength and its use for this pu rpose in athletic settings should be questioned.