Effects of Massage Therapy After Exhaustive Exercise
Here is another interesting excerpt from the 2012 Sport Medicine Symposium. This paper entitled “Effects of Massage Therapy after Exhaustive Endurance Exercise in Young Healthy Males” was presented by Colleen Cupido of McMaster University. The purpose of the study was to examine the physiological effects of massage on indicators of skeletal muscle function following exhaustive endurance exercise. The study concluded that massage therapy treatment following exhaustive endurance exercise lowered pain scores but had no effect on muscle lactate, damage or glycogen content.
The finding indicates that the perceived improvements in pain with massage therapy (specifically after exhaustive endurance exercise) are likely due to neurological and/or psychological effects associated with massage.
Interesting finding!