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Nancy A. Martin, MS, ATC*; Robert F. Zoeller, PhD^; Robert J. Robertson, PhD^^; Scott M. Lephart, PhD, ATC(sec)
Objective: To determine the comparative effect of sports massage, active recovery, and rest on promoting blood lactate clearance after maximal anaerobic (supramaximal) leg exercise.
Design and Setting: A counterbalanced experimental design with repeated measures was used. The repeated measures were the three treatment conditions. The order of the conditions was determined by random assignment to a counterbalanced test sequence. All data were collected in the Human Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh.
Subjects: Ten male competitive cyclists volunteered for this investigation.
Measurements: Serial venous blood samples were drawn and analyzed for blood lactate concentration for each test condition.
Results: There were significant main effects for both absolute and relative values of blood lactate concentration between the three treatment groups and across time within groups.
Conclusions: After supramaximal leg exercise, active recovery produced significant decreases in both absolute and relative measures of blood lactate concentration when compared with the sports massage and rest conditions. No significant difference was found between sports massage and rest for either absolute or relative changes in blood lactate concentration.
Key Words: anaerobic glycolysis, lactic acid, metabolic acidosis
Lactate metabolism and its rate of elimination from blood and muscle are important components of recovery following maximal exercise.l It has been well documented that performing low-intensity aerobic exercise (active recovery) during the immediate postexercise period is more effective in accelerating lactate clearance than inactive rest (passive recovery).1-7
Active recovery promotes lactate clearance by increasing metabolic rate and systemic blood flow, thereby accelerating lactate metabolism via oxidation and gluconeogenesis.I489 Although some controversy exists regarding the optimal intensity for active exercise recovery, a metabolic rate corresponding to 40% of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) has been shown to be effective for accelerating lactate clearance following maximal exercise.1,2,4,6,7
Sports massage is commonly used in an effort to facilitate lactate clearance despite the lack of controlled research to support its efficacy in this regard. Developed in the 1980s, sports massage incorporates classic Swedish strokes with compression, trigger-point therapy, and cross-fiber friction techniques.10 It was "designed to provide therapeutic impact to meet the unique physical and biomechanical needs of athletes" and is typically divided into pre-event/postevent and...