The Effects of Pre Event Sports Massage on the Lower Limbs of Female Badminton Players.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate if a single massage of the hamstring, quadriceps and calf muscle groups would alter the performance of a speed and endurance shuttle run test and an on court agility test. Methods: Nine Female Club level badminton players volunteered to participate in a controlled crossover, experimental design study. The participants were involved in two testing sessions which were exactly a week apart. One session was performed with a pre event sports massage prior to testing and the other session was executed in the same manner but without massage. The treatment consisted of a fifteen minute massage to each of the lower limbs, five minutes quadriceps, five minutes hamstrings and five minutes to calves. The participants then completed three testing protocols which consisted of; a speed shuttle run x 3, an endurance shuttle run x8 and an on court agility test x 3. A SPSS paired T test was then adopted to analyse whether there was a significant affect from the pre event sports massage with regards to the three testing protocols. Data displayed as mean ± SD, N=9, significance accepted at p<0.05. Results: No significant affect was found in any of the three testing protocols. Speed, endurance and agility all demonstrated results that suggested that p>0.05 and therefore a significant difference was not detected. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a single pre event sports massage to the lower limbs of female badminton players has no significant affect with regards to enhancing performance within the fields of speed, endurance and agility. It has been detected that the use of pre event sports massage potentially develops psychological benefits with regards to mental readiness and stimulation even though physiological benefits have currently been rejected.