Traditional Chinese acupressure massage ameliorates systemic inflammatory responses and joint mobility limitation after acute repeated jumping exercise.

Abstract

CONTEXT:

Alternative medical and training approaches to accelerate recovery among athletes are growing in popularity. The potential benefits of acupressure massage on attenuating muscle soreness and promoting post-exercise recovery capacity are still unclear.

OBJECTIVE:

This study compares the effects of traditional Chinese acupressure massage (TCAM) and active recovery, on subject recovery capacity after acute repeated jumping exercise.

DESIGN:

Twenty healthy male athletes were randomly assigned to traditional Chinese acupressure massage (TCAM; N = 10) or active recovery (AR; performing low-intensity exercise during post-exercise recovery; N = 10) groups. TCAM and AR intervention were applied after repeated jumping exercise. Pain scale, knee active/passive range of motion (AROM/PROM), jumping performance, quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction force, creatine kinase, and leukocyte subpopulations were measured at baseline, after and 48 h after exercise.

RESULTS:

No significant interaction effects were observed between the jumping performance, quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force, power-to-weight ratio for the two groups before the exercise, after the exercise, and 48 h post exercise. However, the knee flexion AROM/PROM was greater in the TCAM group than that for the AR group (p = 0.005). There were no differences in the VAS, MVC, and jumping performance between treatments. The white blood cell (p = 0.024), and monocytes (p = 0.023) responses were lower in the TCAM group.

CONCLUSIONS:

We demonstrated that TCAM generates beneficial effects on attenuating joint mobility limitations and lowering systemic inflammatory responses after acute exercise in athletes. These findings suggest that TCAM may be a practical alternative approach for athletes participating in consecutive competitions containing eccentric elements.

• Authors: Wei-Gang Chang, Chung-Yu Chen, Wen-Fen Li, Chun-Chung Chou, Yi-Hung Liao
• Journal: Explore (New York, N.Y.) (Explore (NY)) 2020 Jan - Feb Vol. 16 Issue 1 Pg. 26-34 ISSN: 1878-7541 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 31488342 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Creatine Kinase

Topics

• Acupressure
• Athletes
• Creatine Kinase (blood)
• Exercise (physiology)
• Humans
• Inflammation
• Knee Joint (physiopathology)
• Leukocyte Count
• Male
• Muscle Contraction
• Quadriceps Muscle (physiopathology)
• Range of Motion, Articular
• Young Adult