Effects of Massage on Limb and Skin Blood Flow after Quadriceps Exercise

HINDS, T., I. MCEWAN, J. PERKES, E. DAWSON, D. BALL, and K. GEORGE
ABSTRACT
Purpose: At present, there is little scientific
evidence that postexercise manual massage has any effect on the factors associated with the recovery process. The purpose of this study
was to compare the effects of massage against a resting control condition upon femoral artery blood flow (FABF), skin blood flow
(SKBF), skin (SKT), and muscle (MT) temperature after dynamic quadriceps exercise.

Methods: Thirteen male volunteers participated in 3 × 2-min bouts of concentric quadriceps exercise followed by 2 × 6-min bouts of deep effleurage and pétrissage massage or a control (rest) period of similar duration in a counterbalanced fashion. Measures of FABF, SKBF, SKT, MT, blood lactate concentration (BLa), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) were taken at baseline, immediately after exercise, as well as at the midpoint and end of the massage/rest periods. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA.

Results: Significant main effects were found for all variables over time due to effects of exercise. Massage to the quadriceps did not significantly elevate FABF (end-massage 760 ± 256 vs end-control 733 ± 161 mL·min^-1), MT, BL, HR, and BP over control values (P < 0.05). SKBF (end-massage 150 ± 49 vs end control 6 ± 4 au) SKT (end-massage 32.2 ± 0.9 vs end-control 31.1 ± 1.3°C) were elevated after the application of massage compared with the control trial (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: From these data it is proposed that without an increase in arterial blood flow, any increase
in SKBF is potentially diverting flow away from recovering muscle. Such a response would question the efficacy of massage as an
aid to recovery in postexercise settings.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: August 2004 – Volume 36 – Issue 8 – pp 1308-1313 – abstract

Full text available in  through MTABC member only website (link) under the research tab and then library.

Filed under: Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Massage, Petrissage, Recovery massage , blood flow, FEMORAL ARTERY, Massage, SKIN AND MUSCLE TEMPERATURE

Effects of petrissage massage on fatigue and exercise performance following intensive cycle pedaling

Ogai R, Yamane M, Matsumoto T and Kosaka M

Objective: Petrissage is assumed to influence circulation as well as interstitial drainage of both superficial and deep tissues. To study its effect it was applied between consecutive bouts of supra-maximal exercise performed by the lower leg muscles. Methods: Subjects were 11 healthy female students actively engaged in sports. Exercise bouts of ergometer cycling at loads determined individually (0.75 kp x body weight [kg]) for 5 sec repeated 8-times at intervals of 20 sec had to be performed twice on an experimental day with 35 min intermittent bed rest. Each subject was investigated on two occasions with a minimum interval of one week, once without (control, CO) and once with 10 min petrissage (massage, MA) of the exercising lower leg during the bed rest phase. Effects of exercise bouts on blood lactate, muscle stiffness and perceived lower-limb fatigue and their recovery before and after the second exercise bout were determined. Result: For the first exercise bouts total power did not differ between MA and CO. Courses of blood lactate did not differ between MA and CO. However, recovery from measured muscle stiffness (P < 0.05) and perceived lower-limb fatigure (P < 0.05) were more pronounced and total power during the second exercise bout was enhanced (P < 0.01) in MA as compared to CO subjects.

Conclusion: Petrissage improved cycle ergometer pedaling performance independent of blood lactate but in correlation with improved recovery from muscle stiffness and perceived lower-limb fatigue.

British  Journal of Sports Medicine. Published Online First: 2 April 2008.

doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044396

Filed under: Cycling, Massage, Petrissage, Recovery massage