Massage efficacy beliefs for muscle recovery from a running race

Abstract

Background: Belief in efficacy of CAM therapies has been sparsely reported and may be different than reported use of the therapy. Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify efficacy beliefs of massage for muscle recovery following a 10-km running race. Setting: Finish zone of a 10-km race. Research Design: Participants completed a brief survey regarding running race characteristics, prior use of massage, and belief in efficacy of massage regarding muscle recovery from the race. Participants: The subject pool consisted of 745 individuals who completed a running race and were within 60 minutes of race completion. Main Outcome Measures: Subjects reported demographic information (age, gender), race information (finish time, perceived exertion, muscle soreness, fatigue), prior use of massage, and belief regarding efficacy of massage for postrace muscle recovery. Results: Most study participants believed that massage would benefit muscle recovery following the running race (80.0%), even though only 43.9% had received a massage previously. Those who had received at least one massage were significantly more likely to believe that massage would benefit muscle recovery (91.9% vs. 70.4%, p