JOURNAL OF SPORTS SCIENCE & MEDICINE
http://www.jssm.org
 
Research article
 

ACUTE EFFECTS OF PRE-EVENT LOWER LIMB MASSAGE ON EXPLOSIVE AND HIGH SPEED MOTOR CAPACITIES AND FLEXIBILITY

Ramiz Arabaci

Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Education, University of Uludag, Bursa, Turkey

Received   15 September 2008
Accepted   14 November 2008
Published   01 December 2008

© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2008) 7, 549 - 555
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ABSTRACT  
The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of pre- performance lower limb massage after warm-up on explosive and high-speed motor capacities and flexibility. Twenty-four physically active healthy Caucasian male subjects volunteered to participate in this study. All subjects were from a Physical Education and Sport Department in a large university in Turkey. The study had a counterbalanced crossover design. Each of the subjects applied the following intervention protocols in a randomised order; (a) massage, (b) stretching, and (c) rest. Before (pre) and after (post) each of the interventions, the 10 meter acceleration (AS), flying start 20 meter sprint (FS), 30 meter sprint from standing position (TS), leg reaction time (LR), vertical jump (VJ) and sit & reach (SR) tests were performed. A Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used to compare before and after test values within the three interventions (massage, stretching and rest). The data showed a significant worsening, after massage and stretching interventions, in the VJ, LR (only in stretching intervention), AS and TS tests (p < 0.05), and significant improvement in the SR test (p < 0.05). In contrast, the rest intervention led only to a significant decrement in TS performance (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the present findings suggest that performing 10 minute posterior and 5 minute anterior lower limb Swedish massage has an adverse effect on vertical jump, speed, and reaction time, and a positive effect on sit and reach test results.

Key words: Massage, warm-up, performance, stretching.

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