New Study Rubs Away Myths: Sports Massages Offer Limited Gains in Performance and Recovery

The medical journal titled "Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis" presents a comprehensive examination of whether sports massages contribute to better athletic performance or recovery. Athletes across all levels of sport widely utilize sports massages, with the belief that massages can lead to improved recovery, performance, and injury prevention. Despite its popularity and integration within athletic regimens, there has been no systematic review of the evidence supporting these interventions until now.

Prior analysis of sports massage suggested that there were small and inconsistent improvements in recovery performance following massage, and no significant improvements in pain or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a condition of muscle pain and soreness that occurs hours to days after unfamiliar or strenuous exercise. There were also inconsistent results on the impact of massage on flexibility.

However, this new systematic review and meta-analysis, which is larger in scale than previous ones, has found that massage does not significantly improve performance measures such as sprinting, jumping, strength, endurance, or flexibility, nor does it impact fatigue levels. Interestingly, this study finds that while massage does not enhance direct performance metrics, it may confer a small benefit in terms of reducing or preventing DOMS. Additionally, massage has been shown to provide a small but significant improvement in flexibility when there is no other intervention.

These findings are significant for both athletes and coaches as they reassess the value of sports massages within training regimes. This new insight could lead to a shift in focus towards other recovery and performance-enhancing strategies that may offer more significant benefits. While massages may still be valuable for their potential gains in flexibility and slight reduction in DOMS, it appears that their impact on direct athletic performance and recovery from fatigue may not be as beneficial as traditionally believed.