A Randomized Controlled Trial of Massage and Pneumatic Compression for Ultramarathon Recovery

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73 athletes who participated in the 161km ultramarathon were randomized to one of three post-race therapies, administered in a single treatment, for the purpose of comparing muscle pain, soreness, fatigue, and functional performance immediately after therapy and up to 7 days post-marathon: (1) Massage, (2) Pneumatic Compression, or (3) Control (no therapy). Results demonstrated that massage was associated with significantly decreased lower-body muscle pain and soreness when compared to the control group immediately after treatment. Patients in the compression and massage group also had a significantly reduced overall fatigue score immediately after treatment when compared to the control group. However, all other between-group differences (intervention vs. control and intervention vs. intervention) were nonsignificant at all other time points.