From the article: Does Sports Massage Improve Performance or Recovery
Many athletes swear by sports massage, but research on its performance benefits is limited. What do you think? Does sports massage help your sports performance or does it just feel good? Tell us about it.
Individual massage experiment results
- In the spring of 2005 I won free post race massage as a result of my performance in a 5K race. From past races I knew that I would experience Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) in my quadriceps the day following the race. Being a retired engineer I directed the message therapist to only massage one leg. She worked on my right leg quadriceps for about 30 minutes. The next day I could perceive no difference in the DOMS between the two legs. I suggest that others perform similar experiments to determine if massage is an effective treatment for DOMS. For myself I have discovered that continued activity is an effective treatment for DOMS. Spring-Mass Model Running website http://mysite.verizon.net/tjacmc/SM/
- —Guest Ted Andresen
Sports Massage Feels Good
- When you are 60+ years old like me a sports massage feels great but you still wake up stiff in the morning.
- —bwalseth
It Feels Like It Works
- I don't know if it really improves my performance, but it feels like it does something 'therapeutic' and that gives me the psychological edge, so in that way, yes, it works.
- —Guest TROY
