AUTHOR=Jelen Amadej , Javornik Erina , Meh Sara Gloria , Kozinc Žiga 

TITLE=The effect of a 5-week therapeutic massage on erector spinae and upper trapezius muscle stiffness as determined by shear-wave elastography: a randomized controlled trial

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1428301

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2024.1428301

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Massage is an effective treatment for reducing pain, swelling, stiffness, and improving muscle mobility. Although self-reported benefits on muscle stiffness and pain are well-known, studies measuring muscle stiffness objectively are scarce.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A randomized controlled trial involving 30 recreationally active young women (22.3 ± 0.4 years) was conducted. The participants were randomly assigned to either the control group or the intervention group which received a series of five 30-min whole back therapeutic massage sessions over 5 weeks. Shear wave elastography was used to assess muscle stiffness (erector spinae (ESp) and upper trapezius (UT) muscles) before and after the intervention and at 3-week follow-up.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>For ESp, there was no statistically significant time × group interaction (<italic>F</italic> = 2.908; <italic>p</italic> = 0.063). However, there was a statistically significant and large time × group interaction for UT (<italic>F</italic> = 13.533; <italic>p</italic> = 0.006; <italic>η</italic><sup>2</sup> = 0.19). <italic>Post-hoc</italic> testing for time indicated that the shear modulus in the intervention group was reduced at follow-up (<italic>p</italic> = 0.005; <italic>d</italic> = 1.02), while the difference between baseline and post-intervention measurements were not statistically significant (<italic>p</italic> = 0.053; <italic>d</italic> = 0.75).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>In conclusion, massage significantly reduced proximal UT stiffness both 3 days and 3 weeks after the intervention. However, it had no significant effect on the distal part of UT or the ESp muscle.</p></sec>