Massage and Percussion Therapy on Muscle and Performance Parameters

October 1, 2025 updated by: Acibadem University

Effects of Massage and Percussion Therapy on Muscle Viscoelastic Properties, DOMS and Vertical Jump Performance Parameters

DOMS, muscle viscoelastic properties, quadriceps strength and vertical jump performance will be evaluated in physically active individuals before the exercise and after the exercise and intervention which is either Swedish massage or Percussion therapy

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Intense physical activity affects the biochemical balance of muscle cells by stimulating the accumulation of inorganic phosphate, protons, lactate and free Mg2+. The altered biochemical balance leads to fatigue, resulting in impaired exercise capacity and manifested by a decrease in the intensity and efficiency of muscle work. The optimal balance between training and post-training recovery is one of the main elements to consider due to its impact on muscle strength, physical performance and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

One such recovery tool which has recently grown in popularity is handheld percussive massage devices (i.e., massage guns). The first commercial massage gun was invented in 2008 and in recent years, there has been an increase in popularity of handheld devices for personal and professional therapeutic use, as well as by physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches and athletes to elicit potential performance gains.

Massage is defined as "the mechanical manipulation of body tissues with rhythmic pressure and stroking to promote health and well-being" and is used for recovery, pre-exercise preparation and injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Massage is known to reduce muscle tension; reduce muscle pain, edema and spasm; improve flexibility and range of motion; increase blood flow in the muscle and clear substances such as blood lactate or creatine kinase, and therefore have effects on fatigue.

Rapid recovery of performance is important for both amateur and professional athletes, and scientific studies are needed to prove that massage is an effective tool to improve post-exercise recovery or to promote a faster recovery.

To the best of our knowledge, literature lacks studies that compare percussion therapy and massage therapy effects on recovery, muscle strength and performance post-exercise. The aim of this study will be to examine the effect between percussion massage with a mechanical percussion device and classical Swedish massage after acute exercise.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Ataşehir
      • Istanbul, Ataşehir, Turkey (Türkiye), 34752
        • Acibadem University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participants willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study.
  • Healthy adults aged between 18 and 30 years.
  • No history of musculoskeletal injuries within the past six months.
  • No known cardiovascular or respiratory conditions that may affect exercise performance.
  • Participants with no previous experience with either massage or percussion therapy.
  • International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form questionnaire score above 3000

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any medical condition or history of medical conditions that could affect muscle function or recovery (e.g., chronic pain conditions, autoimmune disorders).
  • Individuals taking medications that could influence muscle performance or recovery.
  • Any current injuries or pain that may interfere with the ability to perform exercises or receive interventions.
  • Known allergies to massage oils or lotions or individuals with skin conditions that may be exacerbated by massage or percussion therapy.
  • Participants unwilling or unable to comply with the study protocol.
  • Inability to understand the study requirements.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Percussion therapy group
After exercises completed, individuals receive percussion therapy on quadriceps for 10 minutes for both sides. Afterwards individuals will be evaluated again.
Behavioral: HIIT Exercise program focusing on quadriceps
Participants will be asked to perform the exercise program that focusing on quadriceps muscle.the participants started to 20-minute HIIT for the lower extremity. The HIIT protocol included static lunch, squats, squat walk, sumo squat, lateral squat walk, front and back lunge, kneel to squat, squat pulses and side lunge exercises. Exercises were performed as 40 seconds exercise and 10 seconds rest. During training, heart rate (HR) was monitored using an activity monitor. All participants completed HIIT Training, after received either percussion therapy or massage therapy according to their randomizations.
Active Comparator: Massage therapy group
After exercises completed, individuals receive massage therapy on quadriceps for 10 minutes for both sides. Afterwards individuals will be evaluated again.
Behavioral: HIIT Exercise program focusing on quadriceps
Participants will be asked to perform the exercise program that focusing on quadriceps muscle.the participants started to 20-minute HIIT for the lower extremity. The HIIT protocol included static lunch, squats, squat walk, sumo squat, lateral squat walk, front and back lunge, kneel to squat, squat pulses and side lunge exercises. Exercises were performed as 40 seconds exercise and 10 seconds rest. During training, heart rate (HR) was monitored using an activity monitor. All participants completed HIIT Training, after received either percussion therapy or massage therapy according to their randomizations.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Muscle tone/tension(Hz)
Time Frame: 10 weeks
3 parts of quadriceps(Rektus femoris, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis) will be evaluated will be evaluated with Myoton PRO device through holding it on the muscle.
10 weeks
Muscle dynamic stiffness (N/m)
Time Frame: 10 weeks
3 parts of quadriceps(Rektus femoris, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis) will be evaluated will be evaluated with Myoton PRO device through holding it on the muscle.
10 weeks
Muscle elasticity (log)
Time Frame: 10 weeks
3 parts of quadriceps(Rektus femoris, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis) will be evaluated will be evaluated with Myoton PRO device through holding it on the muscle.
10 weeks
Quadriceps isometric strength
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Quadriceps isometric strength will be evaluated with hand held dynamometer
10 weeks
DOMS
Time Frame: 10 weeks
DOMS will be evaluated with Visual Analogue Score, minimum value of 0, maximum value of 10. Visual Analogue Score, highest(10) will be for the soreness at its highest, and lowest(0) for no soreness at all.
10 weeks
Vertical Jump Performance
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Individual's vertical jump performance will be evaluated in cm.
10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Acibadem University

Collaborators

Biruni University
Istanbul Aydın University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 31, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 15, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

September 20, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 24, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 27, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

February 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

October 7, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2025

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 050.06.04/155

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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