title: Effects of sports massage and intermittent cold-water immersion on recovery from matches by basketball players.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of intermittent cold-water immersion and massage on perceptual and performance markers of recovery by basketball players after competitive matches. Eight men (age 23 ± 3 years; stature 190.5 ± 8.9 cm; body mass 90.3 ± 9.6 kg; body fat 12.8 ± 4.8%) and eight women (age 22 ± 2 years; stature 179.0 ± 8.5 cm; body mass 77.6 ± 9.2 kg; body fat 22.5 ± 6.6%) basketball players participated. Massage, cold-water immersion or control were applied immediately after competitive matches, followed by assessments of perceptual measures of recovery and physical performance, countermovement jump and repeated-sprint ability 24 h after intervention. There was lower perception of fatigue overall and in the legs immediately after the massage and cold-water immersion condition (P < 0.001; η²(P) = 0.91). Furthermore, women had a lower perception of fatigue in cold-water immersion than massage at any testing time (P < 0.001; η²(P) = 0.37). Jump performance was greater after cold-water immersion than the control condition (P = 0.037, η²(P) = 0.37). There was no effect of any of the recovery interventions on repeated-sprint measures (P at best 0.067, η²(P) at best 0.68). The results suggest that both massage and cold-water immersion improve perceptual measures of recovery. Furthermore, cold-water immersion improves jump performance although neither such immersion nor massage had an effect on repeated-sprint ability. This suggests that, overall, cold-water immersion is more useful than massage in the recovery from basketball matches, especially in women.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB, UK. a.delextrat@londonmet.ac.uk
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delextrat
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calleja-González
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hippocrate
authors.forename: Neil David
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance; D001490:Basketball; D015415:Biomarkers; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005221:Fatigue / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006875:Hydrotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007101:Immersion; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D009068:Movement; D010465:Perception; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012420:Running; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014867:Water