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Sports massages are widely used and come with a host of claims such as that they increase performance and help recovery.
However, when we looked at the clinical trials and other scientific evidence we found that these massages varied a lot in their usefulness, and only some of the claims have merit.
In this article we will share with you:
As a bonus the massage that did the best in the clinical trials is one you can actually do yourself. If you use this it means you can enjoy the benefits more and save a lot of money.
You will see “sports massage” described as a particular type or style of massage. The reality is that “sports massage” is not an individual style. Rather, the term is used to describe a wide variety of types of massage applied to help those who play sports or exercise. The massage applied will depend in the skills and preferences of the therapist. It will also depend on the person’s needs, which may vary from a simple “warm up” pre exercise massage to remedial work to help with rehabilitation.
Both conventional massage (eg. pressure, rubbing and kneading) and vibration massage are used as sports massages. The way they are applied and their scientifically proven effects differ, so we will be discussing both.
The purpose of pre-exercise massage is to help prepare your muscles by relaxing (lengthening) them and increasing circulation.
The purpose of post exercise massage is to reduce post exercise stiffness and soreness, and help speed recovery.
Massage is recognised as useful therapy for a variety of sports injury and rehabilitation needs.
How effective are sports massages at doing these? We’ll look at the various claims, which massages are the best for each, and the best ways to use them. This is all based on our extensive review of the relevant science and clinical trials, which we have summarised in the appendices below.
Both conventional massage and vibration massage will relax muscles and increase blood flow (1–4), which can be part of a “warm up” which is very important before sports and exercise, especially relieving any muscle tightness so that they are at their optimal operational length.
There are claims that sports massage can help increase athletic performance. If you apply a general massage it is very unlikely to help you run faster or jump higher. Various studies show that if you apply vibration it will increase strength (5), but this effect probably won’t last that long, so by the time you compete the effects will likely have worn off.
The exception discussed here is where very specialised massage is used to help eliminate lumps in muscles called (myofascial) trigger points. These trigger points are extremely common, and reduce performance by both causing muscles to weaken and fatigue quickly, and by altering the neurological control of muscles affecting their timing and coordination. As discussed here vibration massage is an excellent way to rid these performance robbing problems.
Conventional massage relaxes muscles and increases blood flow so it should help reduce post exercise soreness and stiffness, but the large number of clinical trials conducted have only shown a very small or no decrease (6–11).
The trials of vibration massage (see below) show that this gives excellent reduction in post exercise soreness and stiffness (12–15). The best part is that with the appropriate equipment you can easily do this yourself. We discuss this later.
Note: the most common form of post exercise soreness is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS for short). This is typically deep muscular pain that occurs between 24 and 72 hours post exercise.
After strenuous exercise your muscles will likely suffer a temporary loss of strength and endurance while they recover.
Clinical trials of using conventional massage after exercise have shown either a very small reduction in this effect, or no improvement at all (6–8,11,16).
The trials of vibration massage (see below) show that this will reduce your loss of strength and help you regain normal strength faster (17–19). Again, with the appropriate equipment you can easily do this yourself. Please see our article The best massage for sports recovery for how to do this.
Both conventional and vibration massage are widely used by professionals to help with sports injuries and rehabilitation. For more information please see some of these articles.
Is massage good for shoulder pain
Does massage help healing and recovery
How to treat tennis elbow
Massage and trigger point therapy for low back pain
Massage and trigger point therapy for calf pain
You can possibly get a lot of benefit from sports massage, so which should you choose? As you’ve seen the scientific data strongly shows that vibration massage gives the best results and you can easily do this yourself. If you like you can jump straight to vibration massage, but we will go over your other options as well.
Most professional massage therapists do a great job. Although you are after a “sports massage” the name is actually not that important. The common massage styles such as “Swedish”, “Remedial” and “sports” all use similar techniques. The actual massage you receive will depend more on the skill and experience of the therapist and what he or she is trying to do (eg. treat a specific problem vs generally relax muscles and increase blood flow).
As stated, the term “sports massage” covers a variety of styles of massage and caters for a variety of needs. For a pre-exercise “warm up” massage to relax your muscles and increase blood flow a non-painful massage would definitely better, and deep potentially damaging massage is probably one of the last things you need for muscles that have suffered microscopic damage due to exercise and need to recover. Deep painful massage massage is more suited to helping with deep muscular problems such as trigger points, but as discussed here vibration massage is a far better option for that.
Foam rollers are widely marketed as a self massage substitute for sports massage, but as discussed here the results are generally not that good, and as a chiropractor for over 27 years I saw a lot of people hurt themselves using one. This infographic shows the main reasons why the use of foam rollers is usually no where near as effective as that provided by a professional therapist.
Massage guns are another thing heavily marketed for do it yourself sports massage. As discussed above vibration massage is highly beneficial, but as discussed here although massage guns vibrate they are not effective at delivering actual therapeutic vibrations. The best way to explain this is by considering two different vibrating machines: a vibrating compactor and a jackhammer.
As you will see genuine therapeutic vibration massagers are like the vibrating compactor, designed to send large amounts of vibrations in deep without affecting the surface. On the other hand percussion massage (massage gun) makers have modified their machines to be more like the jackhammer claiming it gives them better penetration. The reality is that jackhammers are designed to smash the surface rather than deliver penetrating vibrations. As a result massage guns are poor at delivering therapeutic vibrations, but very good at causing damage.
As discussed above vibration massage generally gives by far the best results, and it is extremely easy to use on yourself. In this section we will briefly explain what vibration massage is and how it works, then point you in the right direction to get an effective vibration massager and use it properly.
Vibration massage is where vibrations are used to penetrate and have their therapeutic effects. Like ultrasound (vibrations at a different frequency) all you need to do is place the head of a vibration massager on the surface and the vibrations will penetrate deep into your muscles. There is no need to press in so there is no pressure to cause pain or physical damage. These vibrations are highly effective because as this diagram shows scientists have found they have a host of beneficial effects.
You will need a decent professional strength vibration massager. They are available, but most massagers on the market are either ineffective “consumer machines” that are built to look good on shop shelves rather than work well, or percussion massagers (massage guns) which as discussed are designed to drive their heads into your muscles rather than deliver therapeutic vibrations. To get the right equipment please see our article How to choose a massager.
Vibration massagers are incredibly easy to use. We have links below to instructions with hints, precautions and specific uses, but basically all you need to do is place the head of the vibration massager over part you want to massage and let the vibrations penetrate. There is no need to press in, move the machine around, or know any conventional massage techniques. You can use it on your muscles before exercise as a warm up, after to help recovery, or on specific issues such as trigger points or injuries.
Resources
How to use a massager
The sports and exercise guide to vibration massage
Please check out our video guide for fitness professionals.
Study |
What was done |
What was found |
---|---|---|
Reviewed 11 studies related to the effects of vibration on muscle strength |
Most studies reported a significant improvement in muscle strength following the application of vibration |
|
Review of seven studies related to the application of vibration to older people suffering from muscle loss |
Both whole body and locally applied vibration improved muscle strength |
|
10 healthy males were fatigued using 10 sets each of wrist flexion exercises. 10 minutes of 45 Hz vibration was applied 1 hour post exercise then twice a day. |
Resulted in greater strength and tissue oxygenation when measured 1, 24 and 48 hours post exercise. |
|
Applied vibration after exercise then each day for 4 days |
Good reduction in soreness and increase in flexibility |
|
Used 50 Hz vibration before exercising |
Helped prevent post exercise soreness (DOMS) |
Study |
What they did |
What they found |
---|---|---|
Review of 29 studies related to the effects of massage on performance and recovery |
No evidence of improved strength, endurance or fatigue. Massage gave a small improvement in post exercise soreness and flexibility |
|
Trial using massage on quadriceps muscles after exercise |
Did not reduce post exercise loss of strength. No effect on post exercise pain |
|
Trial of using massage after exercise |
No improvement in performance or soreness |
|
Trial of post exercise massage in older people |
Some reduction in symptoms and impairment |
We are continually adding more information on research and uses. Subscribe below to have us email them to you "hot off the press".
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