Can massage reduce muscle soreness in bodybuilders?
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is an often unwelcome accompaniment to resistance training. It is particularly common among bodybuilders, where high volumes of training and advanced techniques are often used.
DOMS can make it difficult to resume training the day or days after a hard training session. This makes it valuable to find ways of reducing DOMS. However, few methods have been identified that can genuinely make a difference.
Previously, massage (and also self-manual therapies like foam rolling) have been suggested as ways to reduce DOMS, but they have not ever before been explored in bodybuilders or other athletes engaged in large volumes of resistance training.
The study
Efficacy of massage on muscle soreness, perceived recovery, physiological restoration and physical performance in male bodybuilders, by Kargarfard, Lam, Shariat, Shaw, Shaw & Tamrin, in Journal of Sports Sciences (2015)
What did the researchers do?
The researchers assessed the effects of massage on post-workout muscle soreness and muscle damage in a group of natural, male bodybuilders.
What are the key study features?
- Population: 30 healthy, natural male bodybuilders, aged 29 ± 4 years, randomly allocated to either a massage group or to a control group
- Intervention: All subjects incurred a workout designed to produce DOMS. This workout comprised 5 sets of squats with 75% of 1RM to failure, followed by an additional 5 sets of leg press with 75% of 1RM to failure, followed by an isometric knee extension hold for time with the right leg using 50% of maximum isometric force. The subjects in the massage group received a massage 2 hours post-workout, comprising the standard techniques of effleurage, petrissage, and vibration.
- Comparison: The two groups were compared with each other and with baseline measures
- Outcomes: perceived muscle soreness (using a visual analog scale [VAS]), muscle damage as measured by serum creatine kinase (from blood samples), muscular performance (by reference to vertical jump height, agility test ability, and maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) knee extension torque.
What did the researchers find?
Effect of massage on DOMS
The researchers found that both groups displayed increases in muscle soreness post-workout for up to 72 hours. However, the increase in the massage group was significantly lower at all time points (24, 48 and 72 hours) compared to the control group.
Effect of massage on muscle damage
The researchers found that both groups displayed elevations in the markers of muscle damage post-workout. There was no significant difference between groups in markers of muscle damage (serum creatine kinase levels) at 24 hours. However, the massage group displayed a reduction in muscle damage markers at 48 and 72 hours, while the control group did not.
Effect of massage on muscular performance
The researchers found that MVIC knee extension torque was significantly reduced post-workout for up to 48 hours in the massage group but up to 72 hours in the control group. Similar results were observed for the vertical jump. For agility, both groups displayed reductions in performance but there was no difference between the groups at any time point.
What are the practical implications?
This study is a valuable finding for strength and conditioning, as it demonstrates that massage deserves a place within the standard recovery techniques for strength and power athletes performing regular, heavy resistance training.
Such individuals are not necessarily limited to bodybuilders but may also include track and field athletes, American football and rugby players, and Olympic weightlifters.
Where funds are limited, self-manual therapies may also prove useful. Several studies have found that foam rolling is also effective for reducing DOMS, albeit not yet in bodybuilders or in athletes who undergo regular heavy resistance training.
