Effectiveness of massage on flexibility of hamstring muscle and agility of female players: An experimental randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimeded to examine acute and late effects of five consecutive sessions of Swedish massage on hamstring flexibility and agility of players. METHODS: Arandom sample of 34 female players having bilateral tight hamstrings [passive straight leg raise ≤70° and active knee extension test ≥ 30°] was randomly allocated to two equal groups. Study design involved 7 minute massage given on each posterior thigh for 5 continuous days; followed by 5 days of no massage. Experimental group received classical Swedish massage whereas control group received only superficial stroking. Outcome measures were Passive straight leg raise [PSLR], Active knee extension test [AKET], Passive knee extension test [PKET], Back saver sit and reach test [BSSR] for flexibility and 5-0-5 change of direction test for agility measured pre and post intervention on each days of massage and also on 10th day. Two way ANOVA with post hoc t-test was the tool of statistical analysis with significance level 0.05. RESULTS: Significant [p ≤ 0.05] post intervention increase in all parameters of flexibility was observed each day in experimental group within PSLR (8%-12% ↑), AKET (10%24% ↓) and PKET (12%-30% ↓) and highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) increase on 5th and 10th day in BSSR (4%-21% ↑) for both legs. Pre and post intervention values for control group were not significantly different. No significant changes were observed in agility performance of both groups. CONCLUSION: Swedish massage of posterior thigh appears to acutely increase flexibility of hamstrings in female athletes, which persisted for 5 days even after cessation of massage.