The doctoral thesis entitled “Efectos a corto plazo de la masoterapia tras estrés físico” (Short-term effects of therapeutic massage after induced physical stress), written by Doctor Manuel Arroyo Morales, from the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Granada, has demonstrated that massage applied after exercise is especially useful to favour recovery of vegetative heart activity and of myoelectrical activity of the muscles worked during exercise.
This project, directed by professors Nicolás Olea Serrano, Manuel Martínez Marín and Carmen Moreno Lorenzo, has been carried out on a group of 65 non-professional sportspeople. First, an exercise protocol on a high intensity bike was applied and then they were divided into two groups, upon which a different recovery method was performed.
One method consists of the application of electrotherapy (ultrasound and magnotherapy) as a control measure or placebo. The other, of which the psychoneuroimmunological effectiveness was to be measured, is a massage protocol on different parts of the body. Manuel Arroyo underlines that this massage, with a duration of 40 minutes, focuses not only on muscles worked during exercise but also on other parts of the body which are specially sensible to tactile stimulation (frontal region, back region, earlobe etc.).
Physiological and psychological effects
The researcher continues by saying, “Results of our study have confirmed indications that massage may reduce physiological stress response by slowing down the response of cortisol released after high intensity exercise. In addition, it may even improve the immunological response of sportspeople by improving the total quantity of proteins in saliva after massage.” All these physiological changes come along with a decrease of psychic energy of sportspeople after massage, which indicates that they should use these techniques 24 to 48 hours before a sporting event so as not to interfere in their recovery and performance capacity.
The UGR researcher started his professional activity seven years ago in the High Performance Athletic Training Centre (CAR) in Sierra Nevada, where he attended high level sportspeople such as Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, athlete Antonio Jiménez Pentinel or cyclist Abraham Olano. Arroyo Morales points out that “Massage is one of the most demanded services by sportspeople, as demonstrated at the Atlanta Olympic Games, where 7 out of 10 medical services demanded by sportspeople were massages.”
This is pioneering study because, for the first time, massage production of global changes (modifying psychological, cardiac, immunological and muscular states) in people has been scientifically proven. Results of this research will be presented in July at the 12th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science in Jyvaskyla (Finland) and in November at the 6th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain in Barcelona (Spain). Also, this project is in the review period for the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
Reference: Dr Manuel Arroyo Morales. Department of Physiotherapy of the University of Granada. Tel.: +34 958242864. Mobile: +34 620936138. Email: marroyo@ugr.es