Effects of Massage and Cold Water Immersion After Exhausting Exercise on Biomechanical Parameters and Running Economy: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Massage and Cold Water Immersion After Exhausting Exercise on Biomechanical Parameters and Running Economy: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The optimization of recovery to alleviate the effects of fatigue in athletes can provide valuable performance advantage. However, despite the growing body of literature regarding effects of different interventions in fatigue, there is still lack of clarity regarding the efficacy of interventions on running economy and, particularly, fatigue-induced biomechanical alterations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of massage and cold water immersion for enhancing recovery and alleviating fatigue after an exhausting training session. We hypothesized that both massage and cold water immersion would enhance biomechanical parameters compared with a control condition and hence would improve subsequent running economy.
In this randomized controlled all the subjects (n=48) will performed the same protocol. The protocol will begin with a exhausting training session (20-min warm-up consisted of 15-min of continuous self-paced running followed by 5-min of fast-finish progression runs increasing speeds (from approximately 60% to 80% of maximal heart rate, participant controlled), 10 x 500 m sprints at 90% of maximal heart rate with a 2-min rest period between bouts and a recovery phase consisting of 10-min of slow jogging). Twenty-four hours after this exhausting training, subjects will perform an incremental running test on a treadmill (Pre-intervention test) where subjects will start at 12 km/h for 6 min after which speed will be increased by 2 km/h every 6 min until a 16 km/h trial is completed. At the end of each stage, participants will rate their perceived exertion using the 10-point Modified Borg rating of perceived exertion scale (RPE scale). One hour after this test, in one protocol subjects will receive the massage intervention, (Massage group); other group will receive a cold water immersion intervention (Cold water immersion group); in the other group (Control group) participants will rest passively in a sitting position for 30-min period. To evaluate the relevance of the changes induced by the interventions (massage, cold water immersion, passive rest) subjects will repeat the treadmill test 48 hours after the first test (72 hours after the exhaustive training).
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