Place your promotion here
Massage Guns
Massage has long been used as a performance enhancing tool, by decreasing soreness and improving recovery. An issue for the recipient with effective massage therapy is it requires a trained therapist (or at least a willing partner) and can be costly when used repeatedly over an extended period. For the practitioner, deep tissue massage in particular can be physically demanding when performed for extended periods, particularly for multiple clients. As a result, self-myofascial release tools like Foam Rollers have become popular. Vibration platforms such as Powerplates have also become accepted tools into elite sporting facilities, clinics and cashed up commercial gyms as a warm up / therapeutic tool. However, the high cost marred its popularity; and their association with antiquated products in weight loss infomercials likely has not helped their standing in the strength and conditioning world.
In the never-ending arms race to get bigger, faster, stronger and better; vibrating massage tools (such as the Iron Edge Massage Gun) are combining the best of both worlds; making vibration technology more accessible and self-myofascial release tools more effective. These will also ease the burden placed upon practitioners by achieving similar benefits without the labour.
Lau & Nosaka (2011) had fifteen men performing maximal
eccentric bicep curls with 1 arm each, separated by 4 weeks, and gave one arm a
30-minute vibration treatment at 30 minutes, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days and 4 days
post-exercise. The other arm received no treatment, acting as the control. The
treatment group was shown to have less DOMS which reduced faster between 2-5
days post exercise, as well as improved recovery in range of motion.
Research has shown comparable benefits to massage therapy. Imtiyaz,
Vegar, & Shareef (2014) had 45 females lower a dumbbell for sets of 30 reps
using a 5 second eccentric phase. Using a percussive massage device set at 50Hz
for five minutes compared to a 15 minute massage session was found to be
“equally effective in prevention of DOMS”. An interesting note was that massage
therapy was linked to an increase in 1RM after training whereas the vibration
group was not. This may be due to the difference in mechanisms; both methods
prevent sarcoma disruption but massage was found to decrease “intracellular
calcium…(leading) to less ultrastructural damage”.
Pre-emptive use has also been found to be beneficial for
reducing DOMS. Bakhtiary, Safavi-Farokhi & Aminian-Far (2007) used a
percussive massage device set at 50Hz for 1 minute each on the left and right
quadriceps, hamstrings calves prior to walking on a treadmill, which was
declined by 10 degrees at 4km/h for 30 minutes. The control group was found to
be weaker and sorer 24 hours after exercise compared to the vibration group, as
measured by isometric maximum voluntary contraction force and pressure pain
threshold, respectively.
If choosing between using before or after exercise, it is recommended to use vibration therapy before training. Kim, Kang, Lee, O & Jeon (2017) found significant differences in in pressure-pain thresholds and concentrations of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase (metabolic by-products of exercise indicating damage) at 1, 2 and 3 days post exercise, between using vibration therapy before or after training.
All of this is to say that localised vibration therapy is backed by research as being effective for treating DOMS, and while the mechanism is different to massage for improving recovery, it is an excellent tool for the therapist or serious athlete interested in maximising performance.
References
- Imtiyaz, S., Vegar, Z., & Shareef, M.F.
(2014). To compare the effect of vibration therapy and massage in prevention of
delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Journal
of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 8(1): 133-136 - Bakhtiary, A. H., Safavi-Farokhi, Z., &
Aminian-Far, A. (2007). Influence of vibration on delayed onset of muscle
soreness following eccentric exercise. British
Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(3): 145-148 - Lau, W.Y., & Nosaka, K. (2011). Effect of
vibration treatment on symptoms associated with eccentric exercise-induced
muscle damage. American Journal of
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 90(8): 648-57 - Kim, J.Y., Kang, D.H., Lee, J.H., O, S.M., Jeon,
J.K. (2017). The effects of pre-exercise vibration stimulation on the
exercise-induced muscle damage. Journal
of Physical Therapy Science, 29(1): 119-122.