Does sports massage help recovery

The types of sports massage we will look at

1. Conventional massage
2. Vibration massage
3. Foam rollers
4. Massage guns

Conventional massage

Most will be familiar with conventional massage by a professional therapist. These use a variety of techniques that can simply be described as pressure, rubbing and friction. The actual massage you receive will depend on the skills and preferences of the therapist, and the goal of the therapy (eg. recovery vs remedial therapy). Because of this these massages vary considerably.

Vibration massage (not massage guns)

This is where the head or pad of a vibration massager is placed on the surface while the therapeutic vibrations penetrate. Trials show that this is the most effective massage, and if you have the correct machine you can do it yourself. Because of this we have a guide to using this therapy below.

Massage guns (percussion massage)

While vibration massagers have a pad that sits on the surface and sends in vibrations massage guns (percussion massagers) are designed to drive their heads into your muscles. As discussed in the guide Are massage guns scientifically proven , marketers make a lot of dubious claims about these, while they are actually have minimal benefits and are dangerous.

You need a complete recovery strategy

To help recover faster we recommend a complete recovery strategy including sufficient rest, sleep, hydration and nutrition. We provide this in our guide The practical, science based guide to post exercise recovery , however massage can help by:

1. relaxing the muscles,
2. increasing blood flow (remove wastes, carry in oxygen and nutrients), and
3. stimulate healing.

In the next section we look at how well science says each of the massages do this.

How well do massages help recovery

In this section we will summarise how well each type of massage does this. For those who want more details we’ve put details of the clinical trials and other science in the appendix below.

1. Conventional massage
2. Vibration massage
3. Foam rollers
4. Massage guns

Conventional sports massage

Conventional massage relaxes muscles and increases blood flow so it should help both help reduce post exercise soreness and stiffness, and help muscles regain their strength faster. However, the large number of clinical trials conducted have only shown:

• a very small or no decrease soreness and stiffness
• either a very small reduction or no improvement at all, in loss of strength.

Vibration massage

The trials of vibration massage show that this can give an excellent reduction in post exercise soreness and soreness, and help you regain strength faster.

Foam rollers

Despite the marketing a recent review of 21 clinical trials found that foam rollers only had minor or negligible effects on post exercise recovery (14)⁠ while others express concerns about the potential damage they may cause (12)⁠.

Massage guns (percussion massagers)

As discussed above there is no real evidence that massage guns do anything worthwhile. The main issues are:

• While marketers claim the positive results from vibration massage guns are very inefficient at delivering these and delver far less that a genuine therapeutic vibration massager.
• When doing clinical trials massage guns and their usage are modified (to so they have some benefits). They are certainly not testing what they sell and advocate to you.

Our recommendation

As discussed above vibration massage generally gives by far the best results, and it is extremely easy to use on yourself. In this section we will explain:

• why vibration massage works,
• how to use vibration massage, and
• the equipment you will need.

How to use vibration massage

Using vibration massage is extraordinarily easy. The following guide has advice and precautions, but essentially all you need to do is sit the head/pad of the machine on where you want to massage and let the vibrations penetrate.
Vibration massage usage guide

The equipment you will need

This is by far the easiest, safest and most effective of the home techniques, but you need a proper vibration massager, and as discussed in our guide Why most massagers are a waste of money , most of the vibrating massagers you can buy are not suitable.

Personal use vibration massagers

When we were looking for a suitable vibration massager for our patients to use all the effective machines seemed to be "professional" products for therapists to use. These were expensive and not designed for self use. Because of this we built our own that pack the effectiveness of a professional unit into an economical one for self use. They are now used, recommended and sold by over a thousand clinics across half the world (some examples). For information about these and where to get them please use these links.
The General Purpose Massager
The Ultimate Quad Head Massager
Read what professionals say about DrGraeme massagers

Appendix: summary of scientific evidence

Vibration massage

Conventional massage

Foam rollers

Note: when conducting trials of foam rollers patients are chosen for suitability, then given excellent instructions and supervision. Even with these optimum conditions the results were only marginal. In the real world people use foam rollers without good instructions or supervision, and sometimes on conditions not suitable for foam rolling. Therefore, in the real world expect even poorer results.

References

1. McDonagh D, Wilson L, Haslam C, Weightman D. Good vibrations: Do electrical therapeutic massagers work? Ergonomics. 2005;
2. Alghadir AH, Anwer S, Zafar H, Iqbal ZA. Effect of localised vibration on muscle strength in healthy adults: a systematic review. Physiother (United Kingdom) 2018;104(1):18–24.
3. Shuang Wu, Hong-Ting Ning S-MX. Effects of vibration therapy on muscle mass, muscle strength and physical function in older adults with sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. 2020;17:12.
4. Percival S et al. Local vibration therapy increases oxygen re-saturation rate and maintains muscle strength following exercise induced muscle damage. J Athl Train. 2021;Aug 17.
5. Lau WY, Nosaka K. Effect of vibration treatment on symptoms associated with eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2011;
6. Imtiyaz S, Veqar Z, Shareef MY. To compare the effect of vibration therapy and massage in prevention of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). J Clin Diagnostic Res. 2014;
7. Bakhtiary AH, Safavi-Farokhi Z, Aminian-Far A. Influence of vibration on delayed onset of muscle soreness following eccentric exercise. Br J Sports Med. 2007;
8. Davis HL, Alabed S, Chico TJA. Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2020;6(1):e000614.
9. Jönhagen S, Ackermann P, Eriksson T, Saartok T, Renström PAFH. Sports massage after eccentric exercise. Am J Sports Med. 2004;32(6):1499–503.
10. White GE, West SL, Caterini JE, Di Battista AP, Rhind SG, Wells GD. Massage therapy modulates inflammatory mediators following sprint exercise in healthy Male athletes. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2020;5(1):1–11.
11. Naderi A, Aminian-Far A, Gholami F, Mousavi SH, Saghari M, Howatson G. Massage enhances recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage in older adults. Scand J Med Sci Sport. 2021;31(3):623–32.
12. Freiwald J, Baumgart C, Kühnemann M, Hoppe MW. Foam-Rolling in Sport und Therapy- Potential benefits and risks. Sport Orthop Traumatol. 2016;32(3):267–75.
13. DeBruyne DM, Dewhurst MM, Fischer KM, Wojtanowski MS, Durall C. Self-mobilization using a foam roller versus a roller massager: Which is more effective for increasing hamstrings flexibility? J Sport Rehabil. 2017;26(1):94–100.
14. Weiwlhove T. A Meta-Analysis of the effects of foam rolling on perforrmance and recovery. Front Physiol. 2019;10:376.