WPH Press
Each Wednesday the WPH features the WPH Wednesday Workout, designed to help you become a stronger, fitter, faster, and better handball player. From leg and shoulder strengthening exercises to HIT Training, biking, surfing, balance, footwork, agility, coordination, first-step explosiveness, hydration, cooling down, upper body strengthening, circuit training, altitude training, swimming, jogging, and much more, the WPH Wednesday Workouts focus on the areas that every handball player needs to reach their peak form.
To view all WPH Wednesday Workouts, go HERE
On this WPH Wednesday Workout, we’ll discuss the efficacy of sports massage therapy – do massages make a difference, or can you acquire the same benefits from light stretching?
Many athletes swear by massage treatment, with some of the most successful traveling with their own massage therapist. Are these athletes actually benefiting from this added expense and time commitment? According to several prominent academic studies, no.
In an extensive study performed by the NCBI: The Role of Massage in Sports Performance and Rehabilitation: Current Evidence and Future Direction HERE, NCBI stated, “Despite its (massage) purported benefits and frequent use, evidence demonstrating its efficacy is scarce. Adding, “Despite the fact clinical research has been performed, a poor appreciation exists for the appropriate clinical use of sports massage.”
In another extensive research study conducted by BMJ Journals: Effect of Sports Massage on Performance and Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis HERE tested 1012 participants and found “no evidence that sports massage improves performance directly, it may somewhat improve flexibility and DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness),” while including, “there is no evidence that massage improves measures of strength, jump, sprint, endurance, or fatigue.”
Verywellfit: Does Sports Massage After a Workout Have Any Benefit HERE was another extensive academic study on the purported benefits of sports massage. Verywellfit stated, “The evidence from case studies versus randomized controlled trials shows either no effect in some effect in facilitating recovery.”
Less academic studies, however, highly recommend the use of sports massage therapy. Drivenfit HERE states that massage improves blood flow, decreases inflammation, helps muscles recover after intense exercise, and helps muscles grow.
In another article not supported by empirical data, R3bilt HERE states that sports massage counteracts bad posture and soreness from sitting all day, relieves pains, helps prevent future injuries during exercise, and boosts muscle recovery after intense workouts.
As with any holistic treatment, opinions and evidence will vary. Perhaps not enough studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of sports massages, or detecting the benefits of sports massage is not concrete. Or, as the empirical data and academic research has shown, there really are no benefits to sports massage.
As with most treatments, if you believe the treatment is helping, the treatment generally will help. Much of an athlete’s success is based on confidence, and the recovery and preparation is no different – if you believe what you are doing to prepare to recover is effective, then it likely will be.
Webmd: The Rub With Massage: Does it Really Help Muscles Recovery After Exercise HERE states, “There is no evidence that massage enhances repeated sports performance, but there may be psychological benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.”
David Fink
WPH Fitness Director