ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 May;180(5):151-7

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.19.04192-5

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Effects of mechanical bed massage on subjective feeling of fatigue and performance after exercise-induced back fatigue in athletes: a randomized controlled trial

Houyong ZHONG ^{1, 2, 3, 4}, Wichai EUNGPINICHPONG ^{2, 3, 4} ✉, Uraiwan CHATCHAWAN ², Cuimei WANG ¹

¹ School of Physical Education, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China; ² Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; ³ Research and Training Center for Enhancing Quality of Life of Working-Age People, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; ⁴ Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of mechanical bed massage on subjective feeling of fatigue and performance of back muscle after exercise-induced back muscle fatigue in male collegiate athletes.
METHODS: Our study recruited 28 male collegiate athletes who met the experimental criteria. The subjects were randomly allocated into mechanical bed massage group (MBMG) and rest group (RG). They received 20-min intervention after performing eight bouts of reverse sit-ups in the prone position. Back muscle endurance (BME), back muscle force (BMF), and visual analog scale for fatigue (VAS-F) were measured and analyzed.
RESULTS: The MBMG group have a significantly lower (P<0.05) VAS-F compared to the RG. BME of the MBMG was found to be significantly higher than that of RG after intervention (P<0.05). However, the BMF did not show significant differences at any of the measurement time-points (P>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that mechanical bed massage can overcome the subjective feeling of fatigue and may enhance the recovery of exercise-induced back fatigue.

KEY WORDS: Muscle fatigue; Athletes; Muscles; Sports