Massage Timing Affects Post-exercise Muscle Recovery and Inflammation

Researchers from Ohio State University, Columbus, published a study that compared the effect of immediate versus delayed massage-like compressive loading on peak isometric torque recovery and inflammatory cell infiltration following an eccentric exercise. The experiment was performed on rabbits.

Eighteen skeletally mature New Zealand White rabbits were instrumented with peroneal nerve cuffs for stimulation of hindlimb tibialis anterior muscles. Following a bout of eccentric exercise, rabbits were randomly assigned to a massage-like compression protocol (0.5Hz, 10N, 15min) started immediately post-eccentric exercise, 48 hours post-EXX, or no-massage-like compression control and performed for four consecutive days. A torque-angle relationship was obtained for 21 joint angles pre and post-eccentric exercise and post four consecutive days of massage-like compression or no-massage-like compression. Muscle wet weights and immuno-histochemical sections were obtained following final treatments. R

The results showed that eccentric exercise produced an average 51% (±13%) decrease in peak isometric torque output. Greatest peak torque recovery occurred with immediate application of massage-like compression. There were differences in torque recovery between immediate and delayed massage-like compression, immediate massage-like compression and control, and delayed massage-like compression and control.

Immuno-histochemical analysis showed 39.3% and 366.0% differences in the number of RPN3/57 and CD11b positive cells between immediate and delayed massage-like compression.

The authors concluded that post-eccentric exercise, immediate massage-like compression was more beneficial than delayed massage-like compression in restoring muscle function and modulating inflammatory cell infiltration. These findings invite similar human studies to make definitive conclusions on optimal timing of massage-based therapies.