Evidence map›Paper›PMID 12547748›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of sports medicine2003

The effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness.

J E Hilbert, G A Sforzo, T Swensen

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of sports medicine, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

51 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Massage and Performance Recovery: A Meta-Analytical Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016
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  15. Ten days of supplementation with a standardizedFrontiers in sports and active living · 2025
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  20. Acute effects of static stretching and massage on flexibility and jumping performance.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2020
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

J E HilbertDepartment of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Center for Health Sciences, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
G A Sforzo
T Swensen

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological and psychological effects of massage on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

methodsEighteen volunteers were randomly assigned to either a massage or control group. DOMS was induced with six sets of eight maximal eccentric contractions of the right hamstring, which were followed 2 h later by 20 min of massage or sham massage (control). Peak torque and mood were assessed at 2, 6, 24, and 48 h postexercise. Range of motion (ROM) and intensity and unpleasantness of soreness were assessed at 6, 24, and 48 h postexercise. Neutrophil count was assessed at 6 and 24 h postexercise.

resultsA two factor ANOVA (treatment v time) with repeated measures on the second factor showed no significant treatment differences for peak torque, ROM, neutrophils, unpleasantness of soreness, and mood (p > 0.05). The intensity of soreness, however, was significantly lower in the massage group relative to the control group at 48 h postexercise (p < 0.05).

conclusionsMassage administered 2 h after exercise induced muscle injury did not improve hamstring function but did reduce the intensity of soreness 48 h after muscle insult.

Indexed as

AdultAffectAnalysis of VarianceExerciseFemaleHumansLegMaleMassageMuscle ContractionMuscle, SkeletalNeutrophilsPain MeasurementRange of Motion, ArticularTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID12547748
PMCPMC1724592

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.