Effects Of Different Non-pharmacological Methods On Recovery From Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of diverse recovery methods on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and muscle performance. METHODS: Ten healthy males (age = 24.1 ± 3.2 years; height = 173.3 ± 7.7 cm; weight = 81.5 ± 17 kg) participated in a crossover study with three randomized recovery treatment methods that were foam rolling (FR), Theragun (TGUN), or vibration platform (VP). The first session started with a 5-min seated rest, followed by the recording of the subjects’ resting systolic blood pressure (RSBP) and heart rate (HR) values. The subjects warmed-up on a treadmill at 4.5 mph, 0% gradient, for 5-min. Three trials of vertical jump (VJ) test were performed and the best jump performance was recorded. Subjects continued to leg extensions, which consisted of 1 warm-up set and then 4 sets at 80-85% of one repetition maximum (1-RM) until failure to induce DOMS. Rep tempo involved 1-sec concentric and 3-sec eccentric contractions. Subjects returned on day 2, which included 5-min rest followed by RSBP and HR measurements, then soreness levels were measured with Likert scale and Forge Gage. The subjects warmed-up on a treadmill, followed by the recovery method chosen for that session. VP consisted of 10 1-min sets with 1-min rest in between. FR and TGUN were used for 10-min on each side of the lower limb with 1-min rest in between. Following recovery methods, subjects repeated VJ test and leg extension exercises and number of reps were recorded. The exact procedure of day 2 was performed on day 3. RESULTS: A significant main effect for condition with the VP method showing higher RSBP values than the TGUN (p < 0.01). There were significant condition*time interaction and condition and time main effects for the total number of reps (p < 0.03). A higher number of reps performed following TGUN compared to VP and higher number of reps were performed on day 1 compared to day 2 (p < 0.03), with no contrast between day 1 and day 3. Significant time main effect was also seen in VJ values, suggesting day 1 values were higher compared to day 2 (p < 0.05) and day 3 values (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that TGUN is an effective recovery method for reducing soreness, which can be attributed to higher muscle adhesion breakdown, and/or increased blood flow and O2 delivery to the muscle, and/or reduced pain perception due to inhibition of nociceptor activity.