Systematic Massage on Swimming Athletes Performance
Condition: Athletes
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Swimming is a sport that includes different styles and distances, which can expose the
      athlete to different stressors that can affect performance and generate conditions such as
      overtraining. This is due to the lack of integration of systematic recovery periods during
      training programs. A very used recuperative feature in swimming is massage. Recent studies
      have shown that the application of short duration is sufficient to obtain the desired effects
      and it is possible that its application systematized over a period of time may have greater
      effects on performance. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of deep and
      superficial massage on clinical, functional and performance issues; to identify its
      short-term effects on clinical and functional variables and to investigate the association
      between training load and the swimmer's perceptions.
    

Detailed description: 
      The study was composed by a convenience sample of 19 male and female athletes aged between 12
      and 20 years old who train regularly (six days a week) and are members of the Prudentina
      Athletic Sports Association (APEA) swimming team. The research project was accepted by the
      Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Paulista State
      University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" - FCT / UNESP. A single-blinded crossover randomized
      controlled trial with 1:1:1 allocation. The sample was submitted to a balanced-block
      randomization, by sorting on Excel, with a balanced sex, age and competitive level ratio, to
      three sequences of interventions containing: (i) control, (ii) superficial massage and iii)
      deep massage. The study was conducted over a period of eight weeks, consisting of five
      sessions of resistance and swimming training. The option for intervention time point was
      based on a pilot study that yielded higher training loads on on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays
      and worse perceptions between both training stimuli (resistance and swimming). At the end of
      each training week, participants were subjected to a maximum test of 100-m front crawl sprint
      in a semi-olympic indoor pool (25 meters), then we performed a functional evaluation.
      Training load was monitored over the entire trial by the Session Rating of Perceived Exertion
      (sRPE) calculated by the product of the training duration and perception of effort. Effects
      of single massage on perceptive outcomes were analyzed by generalized estimating equations
      (GEE) with ordinal distribution and cumulative logit link function, using intervention group,
      training time-points and day of intervention as predictors in the model. The first category
      (nothing) was used as reference unless otherwise stated. Effects of repeated massage on
      proprioception was analyzed by GEE and remaining outcomes were analyzed by Generalized Linear
      Mixed Model, both with Gamma distribution and cumulative logit link function. Bonferroni
      adjustments were used for all significant main effect. Pearson's test was used to explore the
      correlation between training load and performance and interpreted as small (0.00-0.25), fair
      (0.26-0.50), moderate to good (0.51-0.75) and excellent (>0.75).
    

Intervention name(s): Deep Massage; Superficial Massage
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The deep massage group received 12 minutes of massage on the legs, arms and the back with three different sliding pressures.; The superficial massage group received 12 minutes of only one sliding pressure performed on the legs, arms and the back.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: For the control group, immediately after the resistance training the athletes were instructed to wait for 12 minutes until the beginning of the swimming training. The deep massage group received 12 minutes of massage on the legs, arms and the back with three different sliding pressures. The superficial massage group received superficial massage on the same sites than the intervention group. The three conditions were performed after a resistance training and before a swimming training.
Masking: Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Athletes; Swimming; Performance; Massage