1. Introduction
DM, stroke, pain, tiredness, heaviness
STROKE, EVENTS
This study aimed to investigate the effects of repeated massage adjusted for swimmers’ training on the perceptive, functional, and performance outcomes of a sprint. We also investigated the effects of a single short massage on swimmers’ self-reported perceptions after resistance training. This cross-over randomized controlled trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis included 19 male and female competitive swimmers between 12 and 20 years old. Participants were subjected to three 12-min interventions over a week between resistance and swim training and monitored regarding training load and perceptions. After the intervention week we assessed: perceptive (well-being, heaviness, tiredness, discomfort, and pain), performance (sprint time, FINA points, and stroke characteristics), and functional outcomes (flexibility, squat jump, bench press, proprioception), in addition to athlete beliefs and preferences. A massage was defined as consisting of sliding movements on the arms, back, and anterior thigh, with metronomic rhythm control (1:1), and was divided into two protocols: superficial massage (SM) (light touch) and deep massage (DM) (light, moderate, intense effleurage) while the control (CON) rested. After repeated massage (SM and SM), participants had less chances to report tiredness, and they also maintained perceptions of well-being while CON got worse throughout the week. However, we found evidence of worsening of the perceptions of heaviness and pain at the main stages of the swim training for the massage groups. SM and DM had no effects over sprint and functional performance. Our results suggest that the swimmers were able to train harder with no harm to recovery.In the XXIX Olympic games of Beijing, swimming had one of the lowest competition injury rates but a high incidence of overtraining injuries [Post-exercise recovery is a restorative process relative to time, involving different aspects such as physiological and psychological variables [Massage is one of the most widely used recovery strategies in international competitive events [Considering swimmers’ perceptions, their training context, and the current evidence, we hypothesize that massage favors acute recovery from resistance training, enabling adequate swimming and, consequently, improving performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of repeated massage adjusted to a swimmer’s training on perceptive, functional, and performance outcomes and the effects of a single massage on swimmers’ self-reported perceptions after resistance training. We hypothesize that massage would recover swimmers’ perceptions shortly after intervention improving their training abilities which could, in turn, result in positive repercussions in sprint and functional performance at the end of the week.