Sports massage with ozonised oil or non-ozonised oil: Comparative effects on recovery parameters after maximal effort in cyclists.

OBJECTIVES

To study the effects of passive rest (PR) and sports massage with (SMOZO) and without (SM) ozonised oil on sports performance psycho-physiological indices in competitive amateur cyclists after 3 pre-fatiguing Wingate cycle and post-recovery ramp tests.

DESIGN

An intra-subjects experimental design with repeated measures.

SETTING

Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Padua.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifteen male competitive cyclists (age: 27 ± 3.5 years, body weight: 77.6 ± 8.3 kg, height: 178 ± 7.7 cm) were studied.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Subjects' power output (P), heart rate (HR), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and blood lactate (BL) clearance in response to PR, SMOZO and SM recoveries were compared.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in cyclists' heart rate patterns in the three experimental conditions (p > 0.05). After SMOZO recovery, athletes showed a higher Pmax (p < 0.05) and a lower perceived fatigue VAS score (p < 0.033) in the ramp test. Blood lactate decreased more at T2 (mid-time point of treatment) and T3 (final time point of treatment) than T1 (beginning of treatment) compared to SM and PR conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that use of ozonised oil during sports massage increases blood lactate removal, improves performance and reduces the perception of fatigue in cyclists from 3 Wingate tests.