The effect of massage and passive rest on muscle recovery

The question of a suitable and effective way of regeneration within sports training and subsequent performance is still relevant. New means are being sought to accelerate and improve the recovery of the organism as a whole or its parts after exercise. Also known for millennia are the methods known and proven for athletes and their trainers to accelerate recovery and improve the regeneration of the body.

Massage in sports is a very popular and practically the most common means of speeding up the recovery process after exercise. It is used in top and performance sports, but it is also a popular means of active regeneration in recreational sports. Many athletes use massage to break down lactate, to increase the pain threshold, to improve flexibility and coordination, to stimulate circulation and to promote energy transport to the muscles or to speed up treatment.

Current research into the effects of massage on the human body is contradictory for many reasons. As the mechanism of the effects of massage on the human body is very complex and complex, therefore, research in this area is complex. The research methodology is complex mainly from the point of view of the individual approach of the masseur and the person being massaged, which has an impact on the results. There are a large number of other circumstances that affect the effects of massage, such as massage technique and the type of touch, the length of the massage, how far from the load the massage is applied, what was the nature of the previous load and many others.

The effects of massage on speeding up the recovery process and subsequently on improving performance in sports are currently being discussed by many authors. The application of massage is based on experience rather than positive research results (Boone, Cooper, Thomson, 1991).

The authors of research publications mostly focus on monitoring multiple indicators, mostly physiological on the one hand and psychological on the other. Since the mechanism of action of massage is complex, it is very difficult to separate the effects from each other, due to their close interrelationship. This makes it difficult and complicated to examine them separately.

The authors, who monitor the effects of massage on indicators of a physiological nature, mainly examine changes in the muscle, namely changes in its blood supply (Tiidus,4Shoemaker, 1995; Mori et al. 2004; Robertson et al. 2004) and the associated leaching of lactate from muscle (Martin et al. 1998; Monedero and Donne, 2000). With these parameters, the effect of massage on the level of biochemical indicators (creatine kinase, cortisol, serotonin, endorphin, immunoglobulins, neuropeptides) and related manifestations of so-called delayed muscle soreness (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is examined - mainly pain and muscle stiffness, reduced range movement, muscle swelling). (Smith et al., 1994; Ernst, 1998; Morales, 2006) The effect of massage on muscle strength and range of motion is often observed (Tiidus, 1997; Hilbert et al., 2003; Barlow et al., 2004; Jönhagen et al. , 2004; Brooks et al., 2005; Zainuddin et al., 2005) and last but not least some authors also deal with the effect of massage on swelling (Dawson, Dawson and Tiidus, 2004; Hart, Swanik and Tierney, 2005)