ArticleInternational journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork2023
Effects of Therapeutic Calf Massage on Cardiac Autonomic Function in Healthy Volunteers-a Pilot Study.
Article in International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Massage Therapy on the Circulatory System: A Literature Review.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2026Article
- Classical back massage is associated with lower heart rate and sustained mean skin conductance during recovery after cognitive load: an exploratory controlled pilot study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Calf massage is a therapeutic intervention that improves circulation and relieves us from pain & tightness. The calf massage also improves autonomic performance by modulating the vagal tone of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, the current study was intended to determine therapeutic calf massage on cardio autonomic activity in healthy subjects. Objective: To assess the immediate effect of a single 20-min session of calf massage on cardiac autonomic modulation through heart rate variability (HRV) measurement. Materials & Methods: In this study, 26 apparent healthy female participants aged between 18 and 25 years participated. Massage over the calf muscles on both legs for 20 min was performed, and resting cardiovascular parameters and HRV parameters were measured at baseline, immediately after the massage, and during the recovery periods (10 and 30 min after the massage). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed with post hoc analysis. Results: Immediately after the massage intervention, heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure were decreased ( Conclusion: The present study reports suggest a significant reduction in heart rate and blood pressure after the massage therapy. A drop in sympathetic tone and raise in parasympathetic tone can also attribute to the therapeutic effect.
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