Effectiveness of Percussive Massage using a portable device on muscle pain in amateur runners

INTERVENTION: This is a two‐arm, double‐blind, controlled clinical trial with 86 participants. 72 hour follow‐up period. The runners will be distributed in an experimental or control group in a random way determined by a random number generator program (https://www.random.org/). Experimental group: 43 participants will receive percussive massage using a portable device in the quadriceps muscle region for 10 minutes. Control group: 43 participants will receive placebo joint mobilization in the hip and knee, for 5 minutes in each joint. The allocation will be hidden using opaque, sealed envelopes. The groups will receive the interventions after the run. The evaluator and the person responsible for analyzing the data will be blinded as to the interventions that were conducted. CONDITION: C23.888.592.612.547 Muscle pain PRIMARY OUTCOME: A decrease in muscle pain intensity is expected within 72 hours, verified by means of the visual analogue scale, from the observation of a variation of at least 2 points in the pre‐ and post‐intervention measurements. SECONDARY OUTCOME: A decrease in the intensity of muscle fatigue is expected in the period of 72 hours, verified through the visual analogue scale, from the observation of a variation of at least 2 points in the pre‐ and post‐intervention measurements INCLUSION CRITERIA: Age from 18 to 59 years; both sexes; running for at least two months; able to cover a distance of ten kilometers without interruption