Study: Massaging muscles facilitates recovery after exercise

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Study: Massaging muscles facilitates recovery after exercise

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/osu-sm081208.php

Researchers testing the long-held theory that therapeutic massage can

speed recovery after a sports injury have found early scientific

evidence of the healing effects of massage.

The scientists have determined that immediate cyclic compression of

muscles after intense exercise reduced swelling and muscle damage in

a study using animals.

Though they say it's too soon to apply the results directly to humans

in a clinical environment, the researchers consider the findings a

strong start toward scientific confirmation of massage's benefits to

athletes after intense eccentric exercise, when muscles contract and

lengthen at the same time.

" There is potential that this continuing research will have huge

clinical implications, " said Best, a professor of family

medicine at Ohio State University and senior author of the study. " If

we can define the mechanism for recovery, the translation of these

findings to the clinic will dictate how much massage is needed, for

how long, and when it should be performed after exercise. "

Anecdotal evidence suggests massage offers many health benefits, but

actual testing of its effects at the cellular level is more difficult

than one might think. In this study with rabbits, the researchers

used one mechanical device to mimic movements associated with a

specific kind of exercise, and a second device to follow the exercise

with a simulated consistent massaging motion on the affected muscles.

They compared these animals to other animals that performed the

exercise movements but did not receive simulated massage. All animals

were sedated during the experiments.

" We tried to mimic Swedish massage because anecdotally, it's the most

popular technique used by athletes, " said Best, who is also co-

medical director of the OSU Sports Medicine Center and a team

physician for the Department of Athletics. " A review of the research

in this area shows that despite the existing anecdotal evidence – we

know athletes use massage all the time – researchers don't know the

mechanism of how massage improves recovery after exercise and injury. "

Swedish massage combines long strokes, kneading and friction

techniques on muscles and various movements of joints, according to

the American Massage Therapy Association.

After the experimental exercise and massage were performed in the

study, the researchers compared the muscle tissues of all of the

animals, finding that the muscles in animals receiving simulated

massage had improved function, less swelling and fewer signs of

inflammation than did muscles in the animals that received no massage

treatment after exercise.

The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Medicine &

Science in Sports & Exercise.

The research focused on eccentric exercise, which creates a motion

similar to the way in which quadriceps in human thighs are exercised

during a downhill run. In the study, the scientists focused on the

tibialis anterior muscle, located on the front of the shin in humans.

The simulated exercise involved continuous flexing and pointing of

the toes to exert the muscle during seven sets of 10 cycles, with two

minutes of rest between each set.

" It's hard to describe exactly how the exercise intensity would be

matched in a human, but this was considered a significant amount of

exercise that would likely cause muscle soreness and possible

damage, " Best said.

Immediately following the exercise, the affected muscle was subjected

to 30 minutes of simulated massage, called compressive loading. The

researchers used mathematical equations to determine the appropriate

amount of force to apply to the animal muscle, which was intended to

match the force Swedish massage typically places on a patient's

spine. The device used to simulate the stroking motion for the

research was designed by Yi Zhao, assistant professor of biomedical

engineering at Ohio State and a co-author of the study.

" We know biological tissues are sensitive to the magnitude of

frequency, duration and load, so we controlled the force, frequency

and time spent on massage, " Best said.

The exercise-massage cycle was repeated for four days, after which

the animals' muscle strength and tissue were examined.

The massaged muscles recovered an estimated 60 percent of the

strength after the four-day trial, compared to restoration of about

14 percent of strength in muscles that were exercised and then

rested.

Similarly, the massaged muscles had fewer damaged muscle fibers and

virtually no sign of white blood cells, the presence of which would

indicate that the body was working to repair muscle damage, when

compared with the rested muscles. The massaged muscles weighed about

8 percent less than the rested muscles, suggesting that the massage

helped prevent swelling, Best said.

" One fundamental question is how much of a role does inflammation

play in repair to a muscle? Are we preventing inflammation and

therefore improving recovery? We haven't proven that yet, " Best said.

He is collaborating with a variety of experts across the university

to continue this line of research, and hopes to cooperate with Ohio

State's Center for Integrative Medicine on future clinic-based work.

" Our goal is to use this model to understand the biological

mechanisms of massage as a guide to preclinical trials to test the

effects of massage on muscle recovery after exercise, " he said. " A

trial in humans could look at optimal indications for massage.

" Ultimately, we could also find out how massage helps not just

exercise-induced muscle injury, but swelling and pain associated with

other medical conditions, as well. "