Massage in biological regeneration a review of current literature

Background. Sports massage is the most frequent procedure applied in biological regeneration for athletes. It is an effective approach to fatigue fighting, eliminating pain resulting from exercise performance and accelerating body regeneration processes. It is used in injury prevention and supports recovery in competitors after contusions. The aim of the presented research is a review of current literature on sports massage. The specific aims include the recommendation of the most often applied techniques, assessment of the effect of massage on the development of the most frequent symptoms and the application of massage in the treatment of competitive and amateur athletes. Material and methods. Medical databases were used for the analysis. These included: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and PEDro. 9 papers written within the last 10 years were selected for the study in order to search the answers to the questions posed. Only the papers written in Polish and English, reporting randomized clinical trials, were taken into consideration. The selected papers were subjected to analysis and assessment. Results. Most of the papers present the treatment of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (n=5). Sports massage was also applied in the treatment of such symptoms as stress and pregame anxiety (n=2), gait disorders (n=1), levels of blood lactic acid (n=1) as well as generalized pain and fatigue (n=1). The authors usually applied the effleurage (stroking) technique in their treatment (n=7). Such techniques as petrissage (kneading) (n=6), friction (n=4) and rolling using a massage roller were most often applied (n=3). The smallest number of papers reported using such techniques as tapotement (n=2), vibration (n=2), and compression (n=1) .Conclusions. 1. Sports massage is most often used in patients with DOMS. 2. Effleurage is the most often used massage technique (n=7). 3. Sports massage is an effective physiotherapeutic approach in the treatment of competitive and amateur athletes.